Things Aren't Always as They Seem
by DarkraixCresselia
Summary: Being part-red blood cell, part-virus, Annabelle never expected to have many friends. But she managed to gain some more: Osmosis Jones, Drix, Thrax, and Almira. As time goes by, and as her life changes because of her new friends, Annabelle will need to learn to put more of her trust in them; including telling them of her heritage. But how will they take it?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This Osmosis Jones story is a sequel to my other OJ fanfic, "Osmosis Jones 2: The Enemy is Alive and Well," and I suppose to "It's a Viral Life," although the latter story is considered a prequel to both my fanfics, and to Osmosis Jones in general.**

**Anyways, I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

If there was one thing Annabelle Waters hated, it was stares; especially from cells who knew her secret. Even though she could cover her hands with her gloves, she couldn't hide her eyes, or her lack of membrane. Those two things made her different enough without her hands showing.

As she walked down the streets of Hector, everyone glanced curiously at her; more specifically, at her eyes. Unlike most red blood cells, Annabelle's eyes were completely dark blue, and she had no membrane. But she still had her red skin. Her slightly-wavy, pinkish hair was down a few inches past her shoulders, and a couple of bangs framed her face. She wore a reddish-purple long-sleeved shirt that revealed her midriff, blue jean shorts, brown boots that stopped halfway up her calves, and black gloves on her hands.

As she continued down the sidewalks, she glared at anyone who looked at her in curiosity for more than a few seconds. When they met her expression that said "do-you-mind?" they looked away. The cycle would repeat constantly

Looking ahead, she saw a peculiar trio. One was a white blood cell with a black goatee, wearing Immunity clothes. With him was a large red and yellow cold pill with a cannon for a right hand; and to her surprise, there was also a virus with them. He was tall and red with purple hair; dark red claws; a gray turtleneck; and a black trench coat, pants and boots.

_Why not stare at _them_ for a change? There's a virus with them and nobody's freaking out?_ Annabelle thought to herself.

It was then that she noticed there was an animal with the trio. It was an orange hyena with red spots and flaming legs, a yellow mane and tail resembling flames, a purple collar, and several scars. The hyena saw Annabelle; the former had pale yellow eyes. As Annabelle looked at it, the hyena bared its sharp white teeth in a snarl. _Ah, don't like being stared at, huh, Spot? Neither do I._

"What's Almira growlin' at?" The blood cell asked in a cocky-sounding voice.

The virus turned to where the hyena was looking. Annabelle saw he had yellow and green eyes framed by dark red eyelids, and wore a black chain with glowing blue-purple beads around his neck. "That chick," He said in a semi-deep voice.

Now the entire trio saw Annabelle. And then they all began walking towards her. Annabelle groaned inwardly. _Great, more people to notice how I don't look normal._

"Hey," The blood cell grinned. "Sorry if Almira was buggin' you." He patted the hyena's head, who only raised an eyebrow at him. "The name's Jones; Osmosis Jones; you probably heard of me, right?"

As a matter of fact, as soon as she knew his name, Annabelle realized she had indeed heard of the blood cell. She had heard of how the cell had entered Hector a year ago from a different body. The pill and virus were with him, but she thought the virus was alone. "You're the one who came to Hector a year ago?" She asked.

"Yep."

"Never heard of ya." She smiled.

It was hilarious to see Jones' ego visibly deflate. "Oh…" But then he brightened up. "M'kay, that's cool. Like I said, I'm Osmosis Jones, but my friends call me Ozzy. This is Drix."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss…?" Drix asked, holding out a hand.

"Annabelle." She answered, shaking the pill's hand. "Annabelle Waters."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Waters."

"Do you guys know you're with a virus?"

To her surprise, Ozzy and Drix laughed. "Yeah, we know, girl." The blood cell said. "He's with us. He's a vaccine; he's on the Immunity side."

"Don't rub it in, Jones." The virus said. He turned to Annabelle and held out his hand. "Name's Thrax, baby. Thrax Muerja. I'm a Red Death virus." He said with a charming smile.

Annabelle's eyes widened as she shook his warm hand. "Red Death? Wow, those viruses are rare."

"Yep, I'm one-of-a-kind." He said proudly. He patted the hyena on the head. "This is my baby girl, Almira. Try not to pet her; she don't like strangers, and will bite."

"She doesn't like strangers, huh? We kinda have the same hates: she hates strangers, and I hate being _stared at_!" Annabelle glared at a passing cell, who had paused to boggle at her strange eyes and lack of membrane. As soon as she glared at him, he quickly continued on his way.

The others glanced at the cell as well. "Why do people stare at you?" Drix asked.

"You haven't noticed my eyes?" She asked. "Or that I have no membrane?"

Ozzy focused on them. "Huh, didn't notice 'em at first. The eyes're different, but they ain't too bad."

"That's enough for people to notice in a bad way; they're different." She leaned back as Thrax looked very close at her eyes with a curious expression; something in his own eyes looked as though he saw something familiar, or something that he should know.

"Thrax, I think you're making her uncomfortable." Drix broke the silence and pulled the virus back by the upturned collar of his coat.

"Those eyes just ain't like other red blood cells'; they're different."

"So? What's the prob?" Ozzy asked. "_You're_ different, yet we don't complain…well, Drix don't."

Annabelle chuckled as Thrax glared at Ozzy. It was clear that the blood cell and virus didn't get along very well, and the pill was the mediator of the quadric. She liked them, even though Thrax made her a bit uncomfortable, him being a virus. But he seemed to be on the right side, and she didn't deny that he wasn't charming.

"So, you wanna have lunch with us?" Ozzy grinned. "My treat."

"Oh, I wish I could, but I was on my way to meet my friends at the Boardwalk."

"No worries, baby," Thrax said, wrapping an arm around Annabelle's shoulders. "We'll all come."

"Thrax!" Drix protested. "You can't just invite yourself-"

"No, it's ok, Drix," Annabelle said. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. And after all, Ozzy said he'd pay." She winked at the blood cell.

"Oh…yeah, sure I will." Ozzy nodded. He elbowed Thrax and muttered, "You got some dough?"

Thrax only glared at the cell. Annabelle laughed again. She had a feeling she would be good friends with this unlikely group.

* * *

**A/N I decided to do another OJ fanfic. This one has three characters who were originally for another story (one that I decided not to post) Annabelle is one of them, though she and her friends-the other two characters-are rewritten so they're in the OJ universe.**

**Our first girl, Annabelle, is half red blood cell; I won't be revealing her other half until later. And I may/may not provide some hints; we'll just have to see.**

**BTW, this story takes place in Hector, and after the TV series, Ozzy and Drix; and as I said earlier, is the sequel to OJ 2.**


	2. Chapter 2

******A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

******Devilgirl123: Thanks :D**

******Alu In Chains: I'll try and keep her that way XD I'm glad you like her. I think you're gonna like her friends.**

******I'll add them later ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Annabelle led them down to the stomach of Hector, which was where the boardwalk was. At a table with an umbrella were two different cells. One was a white blood cell; she had a high ponytail, and was wearing a green sweater, black jeans that ended at her knees, and socks and sneakers. She also had a black vest, an enzyme blaster on her hip, and an Immunity badge pinned to her shirt.

The other cell was a muscle cell with a boy cut. She had a brown sweater, a black T-Shirt, dark brown jeans, a big gray belt, gray socks and black flats.

"Hey, girls!" Annabelle yelled, waving her arm up.

The girls both smiled when they saw their friend approaching. "Hey, Anna," The blood cell said, standing up. "Who're the dudes?"

"I bumped into them on my way here; they sorta…invited themselves. But Ozzy here," She patted him on the shoulder. "Is paying."

"I am?" Thrax elbowed him in the stomach, making him grunt. "Oof! I guess I am."

"Ozzy…you're Osmosis Jones, aren't you?" The other white blood cell asked.

"Yes, he is," Drix nodded. "You're in the Immunity as well, aren't you?"

"Yep; joined a few weeks ago." She said proudly.

"Oh, you're Martha Cyte, ain't ya?" Ozzy asked.

"Yes, I am." She nodded. "And you're Drix, right?" She asked the cold pill.

"Right you are, Ms. Cyte," He nodded. "And this is Thrax Muerja, and his pet, Almira."

"Yep, I know about them." Martha nodded. "Though I had expected Thrax to be taller,"

"My name is Ursula Deltoid," The muscle cell introduced herself as the group sat down at the table. "I'm merely a kindergarten teacher on the right arm."

"Martha and Ursula have been my friends since we were kids." Annabelle said. "We make quite the team."

"Yep, Annabelle's got the brains, Ursula's the muscle, and I'm the smart mouth." Martha proclaimed proudly.

"Heh, I like you," Ozzy grinned. "An' I think you're gonna be a great Immunity cell. Not as great as myself, but perhaps just as great."

"You deliver oxygen to and from the heart, don't you, Ms. Waters?" Drix asked.

"No need for formalities, Drix; just 'Annabelle' is fine." She said. "And…actually, I don't do that."

Ozzy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I thought all red blood cells did that."

"Well, not this one." Annabelle said. "The oxygen kinda…stings me." She folded her arms on the table and hid the lower part of her face behind them, feeling a slight blush of embarrassment coming on. It was always hard telling people that she didn't do things a "normal" red blood cell did.

"See, she's actually-"

"Martha, finish that sentence, and I'll smack you across the face." Annabelle glared at her friend over her arms, making the blood cell immediately shut up.

The men's curiosities were piqued though. "What?" Thrax asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with me." Annabelle insisted. "I'm just…_different_." She spit out the last word as though it was poison.

"Let's just forget about it and have a nice conversation." Ursula suggested, trying to avoid an arising argument. "So, how did you boys come to Hector?"

Thankfully, Ozzy and Drix forgot about Martha nearly spilling the beans as they laid out not only how they got to Hector, but how they met Thrax and Almira as well, with the virus adding his two cents in every now and then as well. However, the Red Death virus would occasionally glance at Annabelle with a calculating expression.

Annabelle made him suspicious. Red blood cells' eyes were never dark blue. And they always had pinkish, clear membranes. And those black gloves were very suspicious. As well as the facts that she said oxygen stung her, that Martha was going to reveal something about Annabelle that the latter didn't want out into the world, and how she evidently hated being different.

Something was very different about the red blood cell indeed. He suspected she wasn't a pure red blood cell; no red blood cell that he met had different-colored eyes, no membrane, or got stung by oxygen, which was what they were supposed to deliver throughout the body. He didn't say anything that day, but Thrax was determined to find out Annabelle's secret, one way or another.

* * *

Annabelle shut the door after entering her apartment that night; how ironic that she lived near the heart, when she didn't work at the organ. She did have a job; she worked at a bar as a waitress at the zit at the back of the neck and just below the hairline. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it was about the best she could get; other places were wary of her strange eyes and lack of membrane, and thus refused to hire her. At the bar, almost no one gave a second glance.

She was unable to wear contacts to change her eye color because she was allergic to them; her eyes puffed up and watered badly the first time she wore them. This had frustrated her in the beginning, but she gradually accepted it; her friends had accepted her, despite her unusual features.

She had met Martha and Ursula in grade school. Martha had commented that Annabelle's different features looked cool; Ursula had said nothing on the matter until Annabelle pointed them out, saying she wanted to be polite in not pointing out that she was different.

But when high school rolled around, Annabelle began wearing gloves when her other different feature had began to draw attention. She was unable to find any to match her skin, so she went with the next best color: ironically, black. This was ironic because her different feature was colored black.

Annabelle collapsed back on the couch with a sigh. She thought back on the day, as she usually did upon arriving home. She had managed to make some new friends. Drix was nice and polite, so he was easy to get along with. Ozzy was funny and cocky; she was reminded of Martha. Somehow, she could see them in a relationship together; it'd certainly make things interesting.

When Thrax's face appeared in her head, Annabelle's smiling face faltered slightly. Thrax had made her slightly uncomfortable; mostly because he kept staring at her, as though he could read her mind, and knew what she was.

She shook her head, sitting up. "He doesn't know who I really am; him or his friends. My secret is safe." But she had a feeling it wouldn't be safe for long; especially if the Red Death virus continued to be nosy.

* * *

**A/N I didn't say in the last chapter, but Annabelle's voice actress is Jennifer Love Hewitt. I was having a little trouble deciding who her voice actress would be, and then I heard "I'm Gonna Love You" by Jennifer Love Hewitt (theme song(?) of Hunchback of Notre Dame 2) and the rest is history :)**

**Martha's voice actress is Susan Egan; she voiced Meg in Disney Hercules. I can somehow imagine her having Meg's voice. Ursula's is Anika Noni Rose from the Princess and the Frog. I haven't seen it yet (lame, I know XD) but I've seen at least one Tiana clip on YouTube, and she sounds fine for Ursula.**

**Martha's last name, Cyte, comes from the technical term for white blood cells, ****leukocyte. Ursula's last name, is a muscle on the shoulder; since she's a muscle cell, it fit.**

******I guess Ozzy kinda inspired a bit of Martha's cocky, devil-may-care attitude, as well as the fact they're both kinda chatty.**

******Since I don't know how red blood cells would transport oxygen around the body (I'm not sure if this was addressed in Ozzy and Drix; I haven't watched all of the episodes) so I'm being vague on the details; I'm just saying Annabelle gets a rash from it. BTW, it's not a clue about her heritage; I just wanted to make her different from red blood cells so she doesn't have the same job as them.**

******If you'd like, you can guess what Annabelle's gloves hide. I won't reveal until later in the story ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**********A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**********Devilgirl123: Her secret is what virus her father was (her mother was a red blood cell)**

**********Alu In Chains: They'd probably take her into custody until they decide she isn't a threat to Hector.**

**********I think you, and the other readers, will find it VERY interesting...**

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**Chapter 3**

Several days after meeting "The Frank Quadric," as she and her friends playfully called them, Annabelle found herself at her job at the Hair-Zit Bar. Instead of her usual outfit, she wore a green long-sleeved shirt, a tan skirt that stopped at mid-thigh, high-heeled black boots, and a brown apron. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. The one thing she wore from her usual outfit was her black gloves. She didn't need to wear them at her job, but she preferred to; it made her more comfortable and safe. She often wondered if it was unhealthy to feel comfortable by just wearing a pair of gloves, but then she remembered that her gloves kept her heritage a secret, and therefore kept her safe.

Working at the H-Z Bar wasn't the most glamorous job in Hector. It always smelled of the drinks it served; most of its customers were germs, and occasionally viruses; and any cells that did come looked at Annabelle, as if wondering why a red blood cell worked at a bar instead of at the heart, transferring blood across Hector. Annabelle was sure that was what was going through those cells' minds. But it wasn't her fault that oxygen stung her. The first time she crated oxygen, it stung her badly, giving her a rash that lasted a week. She figured it was mainly because of her lack of membrane, if not her heritage. After that incident, she decided transferring oxygen throughout Hector, like a normal red blood cell did, wasn't her kind of job.

Annabelle leaned back against the bar on her elbows, sighing. She remembered how Ursula had offered her a job where she worked, at the Right Arm Kindergarten, after the stinging oxygen incident. But Annabelle had refused, thinking the children would question her eyes, skin, and gloves. She didn't want to risk a child innocently telling their parents about her, and risk her getting in trouble; or worse, her best friend.

"Annabelle?" A familiar voice said over the voices and music of the bar.

Annabelle turned around, coming face to face with surprised, golden yellow and green eyes. "Thrax? What are you doing here?"

"I came to get a drink, an' relax." He replied coolly. "The cop business's hard; especially for a cool cat like me. What're _you_ doin' here?"

"_I_ happen to work here." She couldn't help answering in a "duh" tone. She raised an eyebrow at the virus's surprised expression. "That a problem?"

"Nope, not at all. I just never thought you'd be workin' here."

"I can't transfer oxygen, and other businesses won't hire me because of my eyes. This is the best I could do."

Thrax didn't ask if her eyes and skin were the reason she wasn't hired anywhere else, though she could see he was thinking it. Instead, he said, "In that case, I'll have a couple Insulin Shots, please."

Annabelle grabbed two glasses and filled them with the light-green, sweet-tasting drink. "Not one to get drunk, huh?"

"Oh, no," Thrax shook his head firmly. "Not at all. I promised myself, long ago, I wouldn't ever get drunk."

"Any reason why?"

"_That_ is personal." He frowned.

Deciding not to press it, seeing as it was a touchy subject; Annabelle set the glasses on the table. "That's $6.14, please."

Thrax tossed a ten-dollar carb onto the table; at the same time, Almira climbed onto the chair next to him, wagging her tail. As Annabelle gave Thrax the change, Almira pulled a glass of Insulin Shot towards her with a paw, and began lapping it up.

"Hey!" Annabelle swiped at the hyena with a hand, only to get growled at.

Thrax only laughed. "That's why I always get two, baby. Almira likes Insulin Shot. Plus, I'm glad she's lappin' it up like that; if she drinks it from the glass, like us, she gets hiccups." He took a sip of his own drink.

Annabelle chose not to question the logic, or safety, of allowing a hyena to drink drinks that were meant for cells, germs, and viruses. As if reading her mind, Thrax added, "She's been drinkin' it for about three years—though only a glass every now an' then—an' she's still alive. You don't need to worry 'bout her."

"Hey, Miss!" A green germ at a table near the bar yelled. "I wanna refill!"

Rolling her eyes, and muttering something about bad manners, Annabelle grabbed a pitcher and approached the table. The germ and his friends leered at her as she refilled the empty glass. When she turned around, the germ smacked her on the backside, making her gasp. Thrax scowled at the germ—for what reason, he didn't know—but his scowl turned to surprise when Annabelle turned around and punched the germ in the face. "Do that again, and I'll do worse!" She snapped, turning away with a huff.

A smirk grew on Thrax's face as Annabelle came back behind the counter. "Nice punch." He commented, taking another sip of his drink.

"A girl's gotta defend herself in this place." She shrugged.

A tall, fat, three-eyed germ came up, scowling slightly. "Ms. Waters, care to explain why you punched a germ for no reason?"

"I'd hardly call spanking me no reason to punch him." Annabelle said. "I have a right to defend myself."

"Against criminals, perhaps; but not paying customers. Those germs don't mean any harm."

"Pfft," Thrax scoffed. "Baby, I've seen germs like that. Believe me, they mean harm."

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Mr.,"

"Thrax." He answered. "An' I'm just vouchin' for Annabelle. She had every right to defend herself."

"I'll not repeat myself." He turned to Annabelle, ignoring the virus. "If that happens again, I'm gonna have to let you go."

Annabelle sighed, "Yes, Mr. Greens."

Thrax scowled after the leaving germ. "'Those germs don't mean any harm.'" He mocked. "I've seen germs that do that, an' worse. Right, Almira?"

Almira nodded with a snort. "Well, thanks, but whatever Mr. Greens says goes." Annabelle sighed, wiping a glass with a cloth.

"This is really the best job you could get?" Thrax asked.

"You got any better ideas, Red? I'm not a white blood cell, so the Immunity's out. Any other places I tried were too wary of my eyes and skin."

"How long ago was this?"

"A few years, at most. I'm twenty-five, and I've had this job for two years."

_An' you still survived?_ Thrax thought to himself, but kept his tongue. For the next ten minutes of sipping his drink, glancing around the salty club, and exchanging a few words with Annabelle, a plan formulated in his head on getting her a better job. He didn't know why he was helping her; he only knew her for a few days. But his small conscious told him that she didn't deserve this kind of job; especially with germs like those. Humming to himself, with Almira at his heels, he exited the H-Z Bar, thinking his plan over.

Thrax was going to need some help, even if it meant asking Jones, heaven forbid.

* * *

**A/N I've got the scandalum scriptor virus; translation, the Writer's Block virus. The virus usually goes away on its own, or is driven away. It's gotten a bit weaker though.**

**Because Annabelle is part virus (her eyes and skin tell that she's not like red blood cells) I figured finding a job would be difficult, and she would have to settle for not-too-pleasant jobs. Luckily, though, she has a good punch and kick to defend herself XD**

**I'm trying to sculpt Thrax into a kind of antihero; he may be good, but he's still a virus. So, he doesn't always play by the rules, and he often goes where viruses are attracted; ie, bars and clubs. But he has a kind spot for Almira and his friends (even Jones, but significantly less than Drix and Almira) He'd also enjoy playing hero for a pretty girl at times, but knows when he's not needed; in this case, Annabelle had everything under control with her left/right hook (I honestly don't know which hand she used XD)**

**Updates may come slower; I'll be either working on other fanfic projects (I'm thinking of doing one of Watership Down) or something else; I'll probably even just be lazing around XD But I'll try and write though.**


	4. Chapter 4

**************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Devilgirl123: Thanks :D**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The next day, when Annabelle stepped into work, Mr. Greens came up with his usual monotone expression. "Ms. Waters, I do hope you're only coming here as a customer."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

"Because your red boyfriend, who wanted to remain anonymous, came here, saying you wanted to quit. So, you don't work here anymore."

Annabelle scowled darkly, cursing Thrax in her head. "First of all, he's _not_ my boyfriend; we've only known each other for a few days."

"I couldn't care less; all I know is you don't work here."

"But, Mr. Greens, this is the only job I can get with my…differences."

"It's been two years since you got this job; there are other jobs that will accept half-viruses." He left abruptly, finishing the conversation.

Sighing sharply, Annabelle turned on her heel and exited the H-Z Bar. She was going to have a serious conversation with a certain red virus. She stopped when she realized she didn't even know where Thrax lived, much less where he would be at the moment. Then, she remembered he was part of the Immunity. The Immunity must have everyone's address; she could ask Martha if she knew where Thrax lived. Then, she could give the virus a piece of her mind.

* * *

"I don't know about Thrax, but Ozzy called, asking where you were." Martha said. "He said he, Drix, and Thrax wanted to take you somewhere as a surprise. Why do you wanna know where Thrax lives?" The white blood cell had a mischievous tone in her voice.

Annabelle huffed, adjusting her cell phone against her ear. "It's not what you think. When I came to work, Mr. Greens said my, quote unquote, 'red boyfriend, who wanted to remain anonymous,' said I wanted to quit. So, I was fired from my job before I came in."

"If someone says who it was who talked to them, it doesn't make them anonymous anymore, doesn't it?"

"Mr. Greens was never for secrecy. But anyway, Thrax got me fired, and I want to 'tell' him how I feel."

"How do you know it was Thrax who got you fired?"

"Because he came in when I was working yesterday, and Mr. Greens 'met' him. Where did Ozzy say they'd be anyway?"

"They'd be at their apartment; they live behind the left retina. They should be in the lobby. If not, Ozzy said to ask for, 'Jones, Drix, and Muerja. Private Eyes.'"

Annabelle blinked in confusion, but didn't question the names; she figured it was either Ozzy's idea of a codename, or it was their job. "Okay, thanks, Marty. See ya later."

"Yep, see ya."

As soon as Annabelle clicked her cell phone off, she stepped out of the lobby of her apartment, haled a taxi, and was on her way to the left retina. After paying for her ride, she stomped into the lobby, but only found Ozzy, Drix, and Almira; no Thrax. Ignoring the waves from the white blood cell and cold pill, Annabelle yelled, "Thrax! Thrax, where the hell are you?"

"He told you she'd be looking for him." Drix said to Ozzy.

"Yeah, but it's 'cause she's mad at 'im, not because he's 'the hottest virus, literally and figuratively.'" Ozzy countered back.

"Thrax, get out here!" She yelled. She turned to Ozzy with angry, blue eyes. "Where is that virus?"

Before Ozzy could answer, Thrax stepped out of the rest room, tossing a crumpled piece of paper towel into the trash can. "Did I hear someone callin' my name?" He asked.

Annabelle grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him down harshly so they were at eyelevel, squeezing a surprised gasp from him. "You got me fired!" She snarled, not caring that people were staring in bewilderment and amusement at a red blood cell hybrid cutting a virus down to size. "Don't you know that was the only job I could get? And now, because of _you_, I don't have a job!"

"Annie, baby, relax," Thrax smiled, removing Annabelle's hands from his coat, and standing up straight. "It's all part of the plan."

"See, Thrax told us you worked in a dumpy place," Ozzy said, laying an arm across Annabelle's shoulders.

"It may have been a 'dumpy place,' but it was the only place I could get because of my eyes and skin."

"Girl, this was two years ago! Things've changed in Hector!" Ozzy countered.

"So, we looked around, and we think we've found a place that is to your liking." Drix took over. "We explained about your eyes and skin, and the owner said as long as he meets and talks with you, it shouldn't be a problem to hire you."

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "What kind of job?"

"We talked with your friend, Martha—she's a great girl, by the way," Ozzy explained. "And she mentioned you liked singin' an' dancin'."

"But I'm not that good a singer," Annabelle protested, nudging the white blood cell's arm off. "And I'm not a dancer either."

"Well, we won't be the judges of that," Drix said kindly. "The owner of the club will."

"What _is_ this club?"

"It's in the shoulder muscle; it's called, 'The Bladed Shoulder.' Don't give me that look; _I_ didn't name it." Thrax frowned, playing with the chain around his neck. "Though, to be honest, it ain't really what I'd call a club."

With a shrug, Annabelle sighed, "All right, I'll bite. Where is it?"

"We're takin' you there," Ozzy said. "Consider it an apology for Thrax gettin' you fired."

"I still think we should take my car." The virus spoke up, ignoring the jibe directed towards him.

"Well, we ain't in a hurry."

"In a hurry?" Annabelle asked, confused.

"You should see his car," Drix explained as everyone walked out of the lobby, with Ozzy and Thrax still arguing. "It was made for speed. But," He raised his voice, making the white blood cell and virus pause in their bickering. "We may need both cars. You, me, Thrax, and Almira can barely squeeze into _your_ car, Ozzy, and we have an extra passenger with us."

With a smug look at Ozzy, Thrax strutted around the corner of the building, with Almira following close behind. "The guy loves his car too much." Ozzy grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You love your car too, Ozzy." Drix pointed out with a smile.

"Yeah, but not as much as Red does."

"He loves his car more than Thrax loves _his_." Drix whispered to Annabelle, making her laugh.

With a rumble, a sleek, orange, fast-and-furious-looking car crawled around the corner, pausing at the curb. Through the flexible window, Annabelle saw Thrax sitting in the driver seat, triangular black sunglasses on his nose, and a serpent-like grin on his lips. Almira was sitting in the backseat.

Now, Annabelle wasn't a car fangirl. She couldn't tell the kinds of cars apart, and she didn't go to car shows. But she did know a cool car when she saw one. And Thrax's car was certainly a candidate for a cool car. Her eyes widened, and a big, impressed smile grew on her face. "I'm riding in _this_ bad boy!" She exclaimed.

"Hop right in, Annie," Thrax grinned as she stepped into the passenger seat. "Plenty of room."

"I'm the only one who knows where this place is, so you'll have to follow me, Thrax," Ozzy said, poking his head into the car. "An' that means you're gonna have to go the speed limit."

"Yeah, yeah, just get goin'," Thrax scowled, pushing the white blood cell's face out.

Ozzy and Drix got into the former's blue convertible, and drove down the arteries, with Thrax right behind. "Bubble-Butt's right; this baby was made for speed." Thrax spoke up.

"'Bubble-Butt'?"

"That's what I sometimes call Drix; ya didn't see the bubbles keepin' him afloat?"

"Does he care?"

"'Bout the name? He didn't like it, at first, but he doesn't care now. So," He lowered the right side of his sunglasses to grin at Annabelle out of the corner of his eye. "Ya forgive me for gettin' you fired?"

"Let me see this job you have for me, and then we'll see." She bargained, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Mm, fair enough."

"Plus, getting me fired isn't something I'd expect someone in the Immunity to do."

"Well, babe, I ain't one to play by the rules. I may be part of the Immunity, but I'm still a virus; I'm still a rebel at heart. Jones may not play by the rules either, but compared to Big Daddy Thrax, he's a saint."

Annabelle chuckled softly at that, letting her arms relax. She didn't really expect Thrax to totally play by the rules. He was right; he may be a vaccine—a tamed virus—but he was still born a virus, and nothing could change that. Plus, she liked the carefree, rebel attitude the Red Death virus had; it made him interesting.

* * *

**A/N Annabelle's ex-boss isn't going to appear in the story anymore. I don't think anyone cared though; he was kind of a nasty guy.**

**BTW, Annabelle hasn't told Ozzy, Thrax, Drix, or Almira that she's half-virus; all they know is she isn't a pure red blood cell.**

**When Annabelle gets made, you know it. She gets really snappy, and isn't afraid to throw a punch or two, if needed. And she isn't intimidated by tall viruses with claws; if anything, Thrax should be intimidated by HER. Luckily, she wasn't totally angry; if she was, he'd probably be covered in bruises XD**

**Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Thrax's car in OJ? Personally, I wouldn't drive a car like that, but it is awesome anyway; Annabelle seems to think so too XD**


	5. Chapter 5

******************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Devilgirl123: You'll see ;)**

**Alu In Chains: One thing you should know about me by now: I sometimes update fast; other times, I'm slow :P**

**Anna's a tough nut to crack. And she can be rough when mad, as Thrax and his coat found out XD Yes, she is very different from most of the people-and girls-he met.**

**Almira just doesn't like most strangers; it's because of her past (see _Almira's Story_) that she doesn't trust them. But she usually warms up to them in the future; she did with Ozzy and Drix :) She might be a bit jealous as well XD Plus, the last time Thrax was interested in a girl (Riley Hydrya) Thrax ignored Almira. So she's wary that history will repeat.**

**You should come work at Logansport's Wal-Mart; 18 cash registers, and only two are open, at max. And they have monster lines. Plus, the self-checkouts are the leading cause of headaches and rage attacks.**

**Everyone who loves Thrax loves his car :D It'd be so awesome if someone altered a real car to look like it.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The club wasn't very showy; it was a simple orange building with a neon pink and green sign saying, "The Bladed Shoulder." It also had the stereotypical waiting line with the buff guard, and a short line of people wanting to get in.

Thrax parked on the curb behind Ozzy's car, and he, Annabelle, and Almira stepped out onto the sidewalk. Ozzy was already talking with bouncer, asking for Mr. Cutis. The bouncer gestured for them to come in. "He said Mr. Cutis is in the back through the Employees Only door," Ozzy said to the group. "I just have to ask an employee fer him, an' he'll come out to see us."

Annabelle looked around as they waited for Mr. Cutis to come out. The club was like the H-Z Bar: it had a dance floor, flashing lights, a drink bar, and a stage for singing. But it was still different; the drink smell wasn't as strong, and the germs and occasional virus seemed to behave better; probably because of the occasional bouncer patrolling the perimeter of the club.

"So, you likin' this place yet, Anna?" Ozzy asked, smiling.

"Well, it's better than the H-Z Bar, I'll give it that." Annabelle admitted. "If I like the boss, I think I'd like to work here."

As if on cue, a skin cell walked up. He was short, barely reaching Annabelle's height—her head was just under Thrax's jaw—and he wore nice casual clothes, which consisted of a long-sleeved dark green shirt, a black vest and slacks, dark brown shoes, and a dark red fedora. "Are you Mr. Cutis?" Drix asked.

"Yes, I am," The skin cell nodded. He turned to Annabelle. "And you're Ms. Annabelle Waters, I presume?"

"Yes sir." She replied, shaking his hand. "My friends recommended me to you?"

"Yes, they did. Now, could you tell me about your job experience at the Hair Zit Bar?"

Annabelle told about how she mostly waited on tables, and filled drinks, both at the bar and tables. Once in a blue moon, she would sing and dance onstage. "My old boss, Mr. Greens, wasn't that great a boss." She confessed. "He was…oh, what's the word?"

"A jackass?" Thrax provided.

"I was gonna say 'bastard,' but that's good too."

Mr. Cutis chuckled. "Well, Annabelle, so far, you seem like a good candidate to work with us. Before I make a final decision, I'd like to hear and see you sing and dance."

Annabelle's eyes widened at that. "Oh, w-well, I'm not that good a singer, and I mostly dance to the music,"

"Honey, dancing to the music is what we do here." Mr. Cutis said kindly. "And I'm sure you're a good singer; your friends said your other friend said you were good."

Sighing heavily, and running her fingers through her hair, Annabelle finally nodded, "I suppose."

"Perfect!" Mr. Cutis clapped his hands together once. "Just ask DJ Mike to play a song, and get up on the stage."

Nodding, with a small smile, Annabelle walked up onto the back of the stage, which was where a six-armed germ was at a DJ booth. After requesting a song, the DJ handed her an earpiece, which Annabelle put on, and walked to the middle of the stage. Upbeat, dance-pop began playing, and several multi-colored lights began slowly circling; these lights weren't harsh, nor did they spin very fast, so Ozzy and Thrax didn't need their sunglasses. As the music continued, Annabelle began swinging her hips to the beat, smiling.

_So hot, out the box,  
Can you pick up the pace?  
Turn it up, heat it up,  
I need to be entertained.  
Push the limit,  
Are you with it?  
Baby, don't be afraid.  
I'mma hurt 'ya real good, baby._

_Let's go, it's my show,_  
_Baby, do what I say._  
_Don't trip off the glitz that I'm gonna display._  
_I told ya,_  
_I'mma hold ya down until you're amazed;_  
_Give it to ya 'til you're screaming my name._

At this point, she was dancing onstage, spinning every now and then. But most of all, she was enjoying it; she was having fun.

_No escapin' when I start.  
Once I'm in I own your heart.  
There's no way to ring the alarm.  
So hold on until it's over!_

_Oh, do you know what you got into?_  
_Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do?_  
_'Cause it's about to get rough for you;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

_Oh, I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet;_  
_Ya thought an angel swept you off ya feet._  
_But I'm about to turn up the heat;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

As they all listened and watched, Thrax's mind wandered a bit. The song kinda represented Annabelle. She was a firecracker, and wasn't all that he expected of her. Despite having a shaky confidence, and was self-conscious about her differences, she was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry, and was definitely not "soft and sweet" all the time, nor was she exactly an angel. But while she was different, she was definitely interesting.

_It's alright, you'll be fine,  
Baby, I'm in control.  
Take the pain, take the pleasure;  
I'm the mistress of both.  
Close your eyes, not your mind,  
Let me into your soul.  
I'm a work it 'til you're totally blown!_

_No escapin' when I start.  
Once I'm in I own your heart.  
There's no way to ring the alarm.  
So hold on until it's over!_

_Oh, do you know what you got into?_  
_Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do?_  
_'Cause it's about to get rough for you;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

_Oh, bet you thought that I was soft and sweet;_  
_Thought an angel swept you off ya feet._  
_But I'm about to turn up the heat;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

As she danced around the stage, Annabelle was having fun. She was always a bit nervous about starting to sing or dance; this was a result of a shaken confidence, which built up during her childhood. But as soon as she started, her nervousness melted away, and she enjoyed performing. She often dreamt of being a singer; she certainly wasn't the best singer, but she felt she was good enough.

_Oooohhh,  
Do you like what you see?  
Wooooaaaahhhh,  
Let me entertain 'ya till you __scream__!_

_Oh, do you know what you got into?_  
_Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do?_  
_'Cause it's about to get rough for you;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

_Oh, bet you thought that I was soft and sweet;_  
_Thought an angel swept you off ya feet._  
_But I'm about to turn up the heat;_  
_I'm here for your entertainment._

As the song halted to an end, Annabelle swung her hips to the side, hands on her hips, and a smile on her face.

Ozzy and Drix applauded loudly, grinning widely; she could hear the white blood cell cheering over the noise of the background music. Thrax was clapping as well, though not as loudly as his companions, and he was smiling, giving her a nod; he liked it too.

Mr. Cutis was clapping enthusiastically, smiling widely. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful! You're perfect for the job!"

Annabelle's eyes lightened up as she gave the DJ back the earpiece, and stepped off of the stage. "Really?"

"Certainly! You may not be the best singer in Hector, but you're definitely good enough for the Bladed Shoulder! Just come with me, and we'll discuss what you'll have to do." What the skin cell said faded away as he and Annabelle walked through the Employees Only door he had originally come out of.

"I _knew_ she'd get the job!" Ozzy exclaimed. "I knew it the moment she got up on the stage!"

"She was certainly a nice singer," Drix said. "But Martha said Annabelle called her singing 'less-than-average'? Doesn't that sound a bit strange? 'Less-than-average'?"

"Yeah, it _is_ a strange thing to call anything about yourself; if anything, people would call themselves the opposite."

"I got a feelin' the reason she feels she ain't good enough to be a singer or dancer is the same reason she wears her gloves," Thrax said thoughtfully, playing with his chain. "She ain't gonna tell us."

"It may be less personal than her gloves though." Drix pointed out.

Before anyone could say anything else, Annabelle came out with a big smile on her face. "Well?" Ozzy asked. "Didja get it?"

"Boys, you are looking at the newest Bladed Shoulder employee." Annabelle said proudly.

"Aw'right!" Ozzy high-fived Annabelle, while Drix simply smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "I knew you'd get the job!"

"It's all thanks to you guys."

"Most of the credit should go to Thrax," Drix said, ignoring the scowl the virus sent at the cold pill. "He was the one who came up with the plan to get you a new job."

Annabelle smiled sweetly at Thrax, who rubbed the back of his neck, failing to not look a bit embarrassed; she could have sworn she saw a hint of a blush on his angular cheekbones. "Well, it wasn't much." He grunted in surprise when Annabelle stood on her toes and hugged him.

"It was a lot," She countered, kissing his cheek. "And I forgive you for getting me fired. Just don't do it again." She warned him, pressing a finger against his nose before stepping back.

"Duly-noted." He nodded, rubbing his nose.

"Say, when you told Mr. Greens I wanted to quit, did you refer yourself as my boyfriend?"

"No, why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Greens called you my 'red boyfriend, who wanted to remain anonymous'."

"Kinda takes away him bein' anonymous, don't it?" Ozzy asked, chuckling slightly.

"That's what Martha said when I called her, asking where you guys were."

* * *

**A/N Long chapter is long. But the bulk of it is the song, which by the way, is "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert. I don't own it, I just like it. Plus, since quite a few YouTube videos of Thrax has the song, I decided to have it in this fanfic at least once.**

**Is it painfully obvious that I'm trying not to make Annabelle out as a Mary Sue? Sometimes I overtry things, and they end up worse than they should be. Annabelle has a reason for not thinking she's good at singing/dancing. It'll be revealed later, but I can say she has a shaky confidence.**

**When I was writing part with the song, I realized some of the lyrics kinda described Annabelle, as Thrax "points out for us"**

**Ok, I might be in for another case of ****scandalum scriptor virus (Writer's Block Virus) But I'll try my best to overcome it; I at least want to bring Maria and Dander from _Ozzy & Drix_ into the story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**********************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Devilgirl123: I am too :)**

**thebigcrunchone9: Thanks :)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Things had been considerably better for Annabelle after getting hired at the Bladed Shoulder. She actually had fun at her job, and hardly needed to "defend herself" against germs. All she had to do was raise her fist and they shied away. Of course, it was also because of the occasional bouncer glaring at the germ in question; but in the end, Annabelle was happy.

She had met some of the other girls, and got along swimmingly with them. Some of them were germs, but germs that were very civilized; others were regular cells from the body.

There were six other girls in all. Two were unrelated white blood cells; one was a red blood cell; the final three were germ triplets. One white blood cell didn't seem to think much of Annabelle. She was used to that, growing up with her "differences" that made other people wary of her. She thanked Hector that she had Marth and Ursula as best friends growing up.

The white blood cell that didn't like Annabelle was named Megan Crystal. She had long hair, pretty eyes, full lips, and golden hoop earrings. Her casual outfit was a spaghetti-strap, lavender top, denim shorts, and dusty-purple high-heels. Everyone's work outfits were the same: a light-gray, long-sleeved shirt; tan button shirt with short sleeves; a black skirt; light tan leggings; and dark brown knee-high boots. But onstage, the girls could change into almost any kind of dress or outfit they wanted.

At work, Megan hardly spoke to Annabelle; when she did, it was as though she didn't want to, and she had a fake smile.

When the girls asked why Megan didn't like her, Annabelle simply gestured at her face, and explained that a lot of people avoided her because of her eyes and skin. One girl—a peppy green germ with dreadlocked dark-green hair; three eyes, light-green hoop earrings; and freckles—thought differently.

"What do you mean?" Annabelle asked the germ, who was named Penelope.

"She saw you with that red virus that came in last week," She explained. "She saw you hugging him, and him flirting with you when he came in."

Annabelle knew who exactly Penelope meant. "Thrax? I just hugged him because I was happy he got me this job. And I don't tell him to flirt with me. I didn't know he did that."

"Boy, are _you_ blind." Penelope chuckled, her ever-present smile widening. "You mean to tell me you don't hear him flirting with you, saying stuff like, 'Baby, you are lookin' fiiine today,' or calling you 'baby'?"

"He calls everyone that. And he's just complimenting me."

Penelope groaned in frustration. "Hey, sorry for being so blind," Annabelle frowned, gathering some drinks on a tray. "I wasn't exactly the heart-throb of school when I was growing up. If anything, I was the high-school freak." She left for a table without another word.

"She's right, you know." Another co-worker said, later that day, when Annabelle was finished with her shift. This girl, named Alexis, was a red blood cell. She had short-ish hair, a thin mouth, and wore a gray hat.

"About what?" Annabelle asked.

"Megan's jealous of you. She's jealous because Thrax is 'friendly' with you, and he doesn't even notice her."

"If she wants to get 'friendly' with him, I don't care." But something in Annabelle's voice said that she did care.

* * *

During work, Annabelle had gotten a call from Ozzy; he had invited her to come over to his, Drix, and Thrax's apartment to hang out and get to know each other better. Annabelle had accepted, saying she would come over as soon as her shift was over.

As she haled a taxi, Annabelle thought to herself, _man, I need to get my own car. Maybe Thrax could get me one kinda like his._ She then began wondering if he had bought the car, or altered it himself. Maybe she should ask when she got to the apartment.

As she walked into the elevator, a white blood cell with almond-shaped eyes and a high ponytail joined her. She had a red shirt, a short, orange jacket, dark-purple pants, and black shoes. "Are you goin' to floor five?" She asked in a Hispanic accent.

"Yep," Annabelle nodded. "I'm visiting some friends."

"Me too." The two women looked at each other in wonder, both wondering if they were seeing the same friends, or if it was just a coincidence. "Who are they?" They asked simultaneously. "Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax." They paused again, and then laughed. "Wait, are you Annabelle Waters?" The white blood cell asked as the elevator doors opened with a "ding".

"Yeah," She nodded, stepping out. "They tell you about me?"

The white blood cell nodded, following Annabelle. "I'm Maria Amino, Drix's girlfriend. I'm in the Immunity; in fact, I'm the best cop they have, not that I brag about it too much."

"Bet that puts a dent in Ozzy's ego, huh?"

"You have no idea, girl." Maria nodded. They found the door to the Frank Quadric's apartment; on the window was a sticker saying, "Jones, Drix, and Muerja. Private Eyes". "Huh. Guess Martha wasn't kidding about the sign." Annabelle muttered to herself, knocking on the door.

A shadow of a man appeared, and opened the door. "Anna, Maria," Ozzy grinned, stepping aside. "Come right on in, ladies."

Inside, it looked more like an office than an apartment. There was a desk and chair, a couch against the back wall, two dog beds—one looked unused—and dog toys, and a doorway with steam coming out. "Thrax is showering," Drix explained, floating by the couch.

Before anyone else said anything, a small, light-blue germ dog came running up, jumping up and putting its paws on Annabelle's legs, wagging his tail. Annabelle exclaimed in surprise, but stood still.

"Dander, that isn't polite!" Drix protested. "Off!"

Dander sat back down, but his hind end continued to wiggle, as he panted happily. "I apologize for that, Annabelle. He loves meeting new people."

"That's fine," Annabelle smiled, coming into the apartment. Almira was sitting on the couch, chewing on a dog toy. When she saw Annabelle, she just glanced at her, and went back to her toy.

"Ignore Almira," Ozzy waved a hand. "She don't like many people."

Annabelle nodded as Drix brought out some cups of coffee. "Do you drink coffee, Annabelle?"

"On occasion. But I try not to too much; it makes me too wide awake."

"I'll have one of those cups, Drixy," Maria said, taking a mug.

"Where's the restroom?" Annabelle asked.

"Down the hall, to the left." Drix answered.

"It always is." She chuckled as she stepped into the bathroom. She froze when she saw and remembered the steam coming out. She shook her head; she had to use the bathroom. Besides, the shower door was frosted, and there was steam, so she wouldn't see anything…hopefully.

She used the toilet, flushed, and was washing her hands when the water in the shower stopped. She froze like a deer in headlights. "Who's that?" Thrax asked; in the mirror, she saw a wet, red foot with two, dark-red, pointed toes stepped out onto the floor. Then, his dripping-wet face poked out. "Annie? S'That you?"

"Yeah, it's me. I just had to…" She trailed off as Thrax stepped fully out of the steaming shower, with a white towel wrapped around his waist. That was the only thing he was wearing, so she could see his bare chest and stomach. He wasn't a bodybuilder, but he wasn't a beanpole either; somewhere in between so he had muscles, but wasn't overly-muscled. He was perfect.

"You had to...?" Thrax asked, raising an eyebrow, grinning slightly; he must have seen Annabelle's blushing face in the mirror.

Shaking her head, she said, "Uh, I had to use the bathroom. I'll…um…I'll just…" She resumed washing her hands, cursing herself in her mind.

"While yer at it, baby, how 'bout takin' a picture; it'll last longer, trust me." He winked at her, leaning back against the shower.

That reddened Annabelle's face to the shade of a ripe tomato as she dried her hands and hastily left. Behind her, she could hear Thrax laughing.

"What happened?" Maria asked, noticing Annabelle's embarrassed expression.

"Nothing," She shook her head. "Nothing. What were you saying about Ozzy when I came in?"

"Oh, we were recalling the time he was infected with an intracellular bacterium." Drix said, sipping some of his coffee.

"He got infected?"

"By a dart, before ya ask," Ozzy frowned. "An' for the record, I had no idea what was goin' on."

"You talkin' about that bacterium Jones had?" Thrax asked, coming into the room; he was still damp, but was wearing his sweater, pants, and boots this time; his chain necklace and gloves were on the couch by Almira. "Heh, I remember that. This joker," He pointed his thumb at the glaring blood cell. "Thought he was havin' a baby."

The room burst into laughter. "I didn't know it wasn't no baby!" Ozzy, who was the only one not laughing, protested. "All I knew was there was somethin' growin' in my stomach!"

"That's called being pregnant, Ozzy." Annabelle laughed, wiping the tears from her face. She forgot about the incident in the bathroom, and Thrax didn't bring it up.

* * *

**A/N What Annabelle's co-workers look like on are posted on DeviantART. Megan may/may not appear more in the story. I'm not sure.**

**For those who don't know, Maria Amino and Dander were in the _Ozzy & Drix_ cartoon series; the part where they were talking about Ozzy getting infected, and thinking he was pregnant at first, is an actual episode called, "Ozzy Jr." BTW, I didn't say in this chapter, but I decided that in the series, Dander was a puppy, so he still has some growing to do. I imagine him to be a small-ish dog; meaning probably being only as tall as Almira's legs. Even then, Almira has long legs.**

**I couldn't resist adding a little embarrassment for Annie here :3 There always seems to be an embarrassing moment for every couple.**


	7. Chapter 7

**************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**************************Devilgirl123: I don't think I'd be able to say anything XD**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Annabelle had a blast hearing of the adventures of the "Private Eyes of Hector," as Ozzy called themselves. She had heard of all of the enemies they beat, and the laughs they had; some of the laughs were the kind that came after the situation occurred.

She asked about getting a car like Thrax's, and she was surprised with the response she got. "I made it, but not in the way you'd expect." He said, scratching Almira among her huge bangs.

"What do you mean?"

He jerked his head towards the door before standing and saying, "Let's go to the junkyard, an' I'll show ya what I mean."

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Annabelle followed him and Almira out of the apartment, and into Thrax's car. He refused to elaborate what he meant until they came upon the junkyard. Without Ozzy's car in front, the car sped down the ventricles.

"There's always an area where people dump cars that are still workin', but aren't in the best of shape. Basically, they dump 'em there." After parking by the junkyard, they all stepped out, and Almira and Annabelle followed Thrax to a car that had seen better days; but when Thrax turned the key, which had been left in the ignition slot, it sputtered to life. Thrax turned it off, took out the key, and told Annabelle to stand back. "This is where the magic happens." He winked.

Annabelle watched as his burner claw glowed to a bright orange color. Her dark-blue eyes widened; she had heard about his claw doing that, but hadn't seen it herself until today. He shoved his claw into the ignition slot of the car. The car molded into a sleek design, like Thrax's car, with a pointed nose, but no fins. It turned bright orange, with yellow flames that started at the nose, and flowed towards the back.

Annabelle's eyes lit up at the sight of the new car. "Oh…my…whoa! That was so cool! How'd you do that?"

"Just the ol' magic touch." Thrax said proudly, blowing the tip of his claw, like a cowboy blowing the smoke from his recently-used revolver.

"Can you control how the car will look?"

"No, it's random. Probably a good thing too; otherwise, we'd get our cars mixed up." He reached in, took out the keys, and tossed them to Annabelle. "Try 'er out. You _can_ drive, can ya?"

"Yes, I can drive," Annabelle scoffed, laughing. "I learned; I just didn't have a car to drive."

"Well, now ya do."

"First you get me a new job, and now a new car! How can I thank you?"

"Just a simple thanks'll do…this time." He winked, chuckling. "What'll ya say when someone asks 'bout it?"

"I'll just say a friend made it for me, which is technically true." Annabelle stepped in, buckled up, and started the car. It hummed to life, purring like a kitten. She drove around the junkyard a couple of times before stopping, and sticking her head out the window. "She rides real smooth; I love it!" She grinned.

* * *

The next day, when Annabelle stepped out of her new car to go to work, the girls were instantly impressed…well, all but Megan. "Where'd you get it?" Penelope asked.

"A friend made it for me." Annabelle simply said as they walking into the club.

"What friend?" Megan scowled. "Y'know, it looks like Thrax's car. Did he make it for you? What makes _you_ so special that he gives you presents?"

"Told you." Alexis muttered to Annabelle.

"You know, Megan, I'm not stopping you from introducing yourself to Thrax when he comes in," Annabelle said. "I'm really not. And another thing, I don't appreciate you making me feel like I'm not worthy of getting gifts from my friends."

"I just don't see what he sees in you."

"He doesn't see anything in me. Him flirting with me, he's just being nice. Him calling me 'baby,' he calls everyone that. He even calls his pet hyena 'baby girl.' If you want to flirt with him, go ahead! I don't care! Period!" With a growl, she stormed through the Employees Only door to change into her work clothes. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, groaning under her breath. _That girl is such a pain in the ass!_ If there was one thing she didn't like about her job, it was Megan Crystal.

Megan never stopped belittling Annabelle, but she did do it less. It wasn't as though Annabelle wasn't used to being insulted, but she still didn't like it; no one she knew liked being insulted. And to be honest, she didn't know why Megan disliked her so much. At first, she figured it was her differences, as it always was. But that seemed to be less and less of the issue; it was more of her being jealous that Annabelle was friends with Thrax.

Yes, Annabelle admitted Thrax was handsome and charming. But she wasn't looking for a romantic relationship yet. And if she was, she wasn't going to jump right at Thrax. If there was one thing she learned about him from the past month she knew him and his friends, it was that the virus was lady's man. He could both charm a lady and intimidate a man, and he very well knew it. And Annabelle felt that if he had a choice, he wouldn't pick herself as a girlfriend. Had she voiced this to any of her friends, they would have told her otherwise; that she was a beautiful, sassy, young lady, who any man would be lucky to have. Well, Annabelle didn't have as much self-confidence as she felt she should have, and wasn't confident that Thrax would ask her to be his girlfriend, when he could pick any free woman in Hector.

And anyway, it wasn't as though Annabelle wanted to be Thrax's girlfriend in the first place.

* * *

That night, when Annabelle didn't have a shift, she invited Martha and Ursula to the Bladed Shoulder, as her childhood best friends hadn't seen it yet.

"Nice place," Martha nodded. "_Much_ better than that crappy place you used to work. Thrax had the right idea of getting you this job."

Ursula nodded in agreement. "I know; I hear it from the guys too." Annabelle said as they sat at a table.

One of Annabelle's germ co-workers approached the table; she had red-purple skin with black spots, three eyes with glasses, and short black hair tied in a small ponytail. As well as her work outfit, she wore a thin, black and blue-striped scarf, and a peace sign necklace. "Hey, Annabelle." She greeted.

"Hey, Monica," Annabelle smiled. "These are my best friends, Martha, and Ursula. This is one of my co-workers, Monica."

"Pleased to meet you both. What'll you girls have?"

"Just some glucose sodas."

"No ice in mine." Ursula requested.

"Coming right up." Monica nodded, pushing her glasses up.

"Speaking of the guys, you'll never guess what happened today at work." Martha said with a secretive grin.

"What happened?" Annabelle asked.

"You're not even gonna guess?"

"You said we'd never guess." Ursula pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right. All right, I'll tell you. I've started going out with Osmosis Jones!"

Annabelle squealed as though she were in high school again, but stopped when Ursula gave her a look. "Really? How'd it happen?"

"It was at work. I was standing by the water fountain, drinking some water. Ozzy walks up, bein' all cool and macho. He says, 'Hey, Marty; yer a sight for sore eyes.' So, I say, 'Why're your eyes so sore?' And he says, 'From lookin' at you from afar.'"

"Dang, that guy comes up with remarks real quick, huh?" Annabelle remarked as Monica set three glucose soda drinks—one without ice—on the table.

"Yeah. So, we're flirting back and forth, and subconsciously stepping closer and closer to each other. And finally-"

"Next thing she knows, they're making out." Ursula interrupted with a smirk.

"Hey, I was getting to that." Martha pouted.

"So, you admit to doing that?" Annabelle asked.

"Yeah, I do. One minute, we're flirting; the next, we're sucking face."

"Ew. Not the kissing, just the term." Ursula said, making a face.

"You know, I thought you guys were made for each other." Annabelle remarked, sipping her drink. "You're both chatty, and like to show off, but you're good for a laugh."

"Plus, two people always seem to be arguing or flirting, and the next thing, boom! They're kissing." Ursula added.

"So, anyway, when we're done, Ozzy asks, 'You wanna go somewhere with me?' And I ask, 'You free this Saturday?' And he answers, 'Sounds like a plan.'"

"I was wondering when you two were gonna hook up." Ursula said.

"So, Anna, when're _you_ gonna get a man?"

"Who says that since you're going out with a guy, that _I_ need a boyfriend too? And why not Ursula too?"

"Girls, you know that I'm not looking for a guy." Ursula said, taking a sip of her drink.

"You know, my mom always said, 'If a girl's not lookin' for a guy, she's usually lookin' for the opposite thing.'"

"Oh, so now I'm looking for a girl?" Ursula raised an eyebrow as her friends laughed.

"I didn't say that," Martha defended herself.

"Ah, leave her alone, Marty," Annabelle said, elbowing her best friend. "Some people are perfectly fine being alone."

"Like you?"

"Even if I wanted to look for a guy, my choices are very limited by guys who won't be wary of my eyes and skin."

"What about Thrax?" Ursula asked.

"What about him?"

"Are you blind, woman?" Martha snapped. "He gets you this awesome job, he makes you a car; open your eyes! He likes you!"

"Martha, he can have any girl in Hector-"

"And he wants you! Ursula?"

"I have to agree with Martha, Anna," The muscle cell nodded. "I know you said that Thrax flirts with you to be nice, and he calls everyone 'baby,' but I'm pretty sure he doesn't give anyone a new job and car."

"Ozzy even said he never expected Thrax to get you a car." Martha added.

"Look, I'm not gonna say any more on the matter. I already told Megan she could flirt with Thrax if she wanted, and that I didn't care."

"What the hell did you do that for?" Martha screamed.

"She obviously likes him; my co-workers say that, and I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Ann-"

"Nope! No more!"

"I was just gonna say you're a very stubborn, blind, and stupid person."

Ursula just rolled her eyes; but for once, it wasn't at her chatty friend.

* * *

**A/N There's a big chance I'll time jump the next chapter because there are some juicy events I want to write about, and I'm running out of ideas to build up to that.**

**I'm not sure whether when Thrax turns cars into badass, racing, flaming cars, it's always the same car or not. We only saw the one car in the film, so we don't know if the cars are always the same or not. I'm gonna just say it's random, and the cars aren't always the same. I'm not sure if I'll draw Annabelle's car because to be honest, I SUCK at drawing cars; the pictures I drew of the family car when I was younger look more like block toys than cars.**

**A bit more of Megan's character. Yeah, she's nasty. Period.**

**In case it isn't obvious, Annabelle has a bit of a crush on Thrax. But she's not confident enough, if at all, that he feels the same about her. So, yeah, she's blind to the fact that Thrax MAY like her.**

**I know that in another chapter, I said the germ co-workers were triplets. Well, when I was designing the girls, I forgot -_- Well, let's just say that in the cell world, fraternal triplets don't always look at least similar, and leave it at that.**

**How many of you saw the Ozzy/Martha pairing coming? I'll admit, I liked Ozzy/Leah as much as the next guy, but he's in Hector, and there's no Leah. I know there's that girl he likes in O&D, but I prefer Martha to her (although I haven't seen all of the episodes yet)**

**I guess we can safely say Martha and Ursula are Thrax/Annabelle shippers XD All kidding aside, they're just trying to convince Annabelle that there's a chance Thrax likes her. But she's too stubborn and not confident enough to agree.**


	8. Chapter 8

******************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

******************************Devilgirl123: Seems like it :D But this chapter may change some things...**

******************************Alu-In-Chains: Ch. 5: I think you will like it :)**

******************************He DID clap and nod that he liked it. But on the inside, he liked it as much as he liked another person's singing. At that point, he only thought of Annabelle as a friend, and didn't harbor any "deep" feelings (yes, he liked her)  
**

******************************Ch. 6: I know; from what I saw of the series, he is such a cute doggie :3 They live in the same apartment, so Almira and Dander see a lot of each other. At first, she didn't think much of him, not liking strangers (including other animals) and thought of him as just a nuisance But as time went by, she came to think of the pup as a little brother, which I think considering Almira, is adorable :3**

******************************Yep, friendly-friends all around XD**

******************************So would I, except I think I'd be totally speechless, if not cherry-red. Heck, she'd probably be seeing that image in her dreams XD**

******************************Ch. 7: I think so too.**

******************************I guess that means Megan's realistic XD All kidding aside, she is pretty nasty. Yep, you're right; in that chapter's A/N, I said Annabelle has a bit of a crush on Thrax, so she would be a bit hurt if she sees Thrax and Megan flirting; especially since Megan's becoming her arch-nemesis. I'm not quite sure; as I said before, we may/may not see much of Megan in this story. But I'll definitely have to keep that in mind ;)**

******************************Yeah, they do :) Well, as for the double-date, I'm not sure if Annabelle and Thrax would be going after this chapter...**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Annabelle didn't reveal her secret to just anyone; in her mind, the only ones worthy of knowing her secret were people who she knew for a while, and knew she could trust. Martha and Ursula had been two of those people, but for a while, she had considered letting someone else in on her secret; three other people, to be precise.

She had often thought about telling Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax about her secret, but then pushed the thought away, thinking of the worse. _They wouldn't understand. They would hate me. They'd turn me in to the Immunity._

But the more she thought about it later, the more she realized she was being foolish. Who was to say they wouldn't understand? They probably wouldn't understand much about her situation, but surely they would understand why she had to keep it a secret. And who was to say they would hate her? They may feel hurt that they didn't know right away. But, again, they may understand why she had to keep it a secret. Plus, she never endangered them in such a way that she would need to be turned in; sure, she grabbed Thrax's coat that one time, but anyone in her situation would do that.

Once she got the bad thoughts out of the way, Annabelle pondered on whether she could trust them to keep her heritage a secret or not. Ozzy was a bit mouthy, but she was sure he would understand that such a secret needed to be kept a secret; and she trusted Drix and Thrax enough to keep him in line.

Speaking of the cold pill, Annabelle felt Drix was the type of person who knew well enough to keep something a secret; especially her own secret. But Thrax? Could he keep a secret? As with Ozzy, maybe Drix could keep him in line as well. But Thrax seemed a more responsible person than Ozzy. The more she thought about it, the more Annabelle felt she could trust them with her secret.

She just hoped she didn't make the wrong decision.

* * *

The next day, a month and a half after meeting the Frank Quadric, Annabelle came to their apartment, and knocked on their door. Drix answered the door. "Oh, Annabelle. What a surprise." He greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Drix," Annabelle answered. "May I come in?"

"Certainly." He moved to the side, allowing Annabelle to step in.

Almira was sitting on the floor, with Dander nearby. When Annabelle came into the main room, Dander ran up to her, wagging his tail, and yapping excitedly. Annabelle petted Dander with a smile. Almira didn't move from her spot; she and Annabelle had gotten to know each other, but Annabelle hadn't tried to pet Almira just yet. Ozzy was dozing on the couch, snoring. "Is Thrax home?"

"Right here, Annie," Thrax said, coming out of the bathroom. "What brings you here?"

"I have something I need to tell you guys; Ozzy too."

Almira stood up, put her front paws on the couch, and opened her mouth to bark at Ozzy to wake him up. Instead, her nose wrinkled, and she sneezed. "Eugh!" Ozzy yelled, pushing the hyena away and wiping his face off. "I hope ya didn't do that on purpose."

Drix, Thrax, and Annabelle had been laughing while Ozzy wiped the slobber and snot from his face. "Why'd she wake me up anyway?" He asked, then noticed Annabelle. "Oh, hey, Annabelle," He grinned. "What brings you to this side o' Hector?"

"There's something I need to tell you guys," She said, her expression sobering. "It's something really serious, and something I've kept a secret from everyone except my close friends."

The guys were immediately silent and listening intently. Even Almira's ears were perked up and forward. "What is it?" Drix asked gently.

Taking a deep breath, Annabelle said slowly, "You probably already figured it out, as it was painfully obvious, but…I'm not a pure red blood cell. My mother was a red blood cell…but…but my father was a virus. Y'see, my mom met my dad, who convinced her he wasn't going to hurt Hector. And she believed him. But it was a lie. He was caught and executed before there was any damage. Even though my mom meeting him several times were secret…she became pregnant with me, and found out after my dad was killed. When I was born, it was apparent that my father wasn't a red blood cell, or even a cell at all, but was a virus. My mom never said who my father was; only that he was a mistake.

"I was picked on because of my obvious viral differences, and my mom was shamed for helping to conceive me, My mom was stupid and naïve, but I paid a lot of the price when it wasn't my fault; I wasn't able to choose my father. If I could, I'd want him to be at least a cell, and not a virus."

"What happened to your mother?" Drix asked.

"When I was ten, there was an accident; Hector had gotten injured while skating, and lost a bit of blood. As you can probably figure out, my mom was in the blood loss. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle. My uncle didn't care that I was part-virus; he loved me for who I was in personality. I'm not a malicious killer like my father was, and he knew it. My aunt knew it too…but…the thing is, she's a perfectionist. Everything must be picture-perfect. When her sister—my mom—was pregnant, like everyone else, she assumed my father was a cell. She was envisioning the 'perfect niece.' Of course, when it became apparent I was anything but perfect…well, when I came to live with them, she made it apparent.

"Whatta ya mean?" Ozzy asked.

"My aunt was always telling me I wasn't perfect. Not in the sweet, 'you're not perfect, but that's okay' kind, but the straightforward 'you're not perfect, and I don't like it' kind. She always told me something about me being imperfect; my eyes were too dark, my skin wasn't right, I couldn't sing, I couldn't dance. Nothing about me pleased her." Annabelle wiped away a tear that had fallen down her face. "I tried my best to impress and please her, but nothing was good enough. As I got older, she got nastier with the insults; she started to say I would never amount to anything, and would never be good at anything."

"That's absolutely despicable!" Drix exclaimed. "How could someone say that about their own niece?"

"Someone who's a die-hard perfectionist, Bubble-Butt," Thrax said grimly. "That's who."

"But what I'm really telling you isn't that my aunt never accepted me for who I was," Annabelle said. "It's about who I really am. And it's also about what's under these gloves," She held up her gloved hands. "You think my eyes and skin show that I'm different? My hands are the big whoppers."

There was silence. Annabelle was shaking with nervousness as she slowly pulled off one glove from her hand by the fingertips. She bit her lip, and held her breath until the black fabric was completely off of her hand.

Ozzy, Drix, Thrax, and Almira's eyes all widened. Annabelle's hands looked like normal hands, save for one obvious difference: claws. Annabelle had black claws. Halfway up her fingers were black claws; they weren't long, or very threatening. They were as long as normal fingers would be.

"This is why I've worn gloves for ten years. My eyes and skin, they might just look like abnormalities. But my claws," Annabelle clenched her fist as she stared at her claws. "My claws just scream 'I'm part-virus'."

Thrax took Annabelle's ungloved hand in his, and looked down at her claws. "I've seen these claws before." He muttered so quietly, Annabelle wasn't sure if he had said it at all.

"What virus was your father?" Drix asked.

It was the million-dollar question, and it was now-or-never. Taking a few deep breaths, Annabelle spoke one word, "Ebola."

One could hear a pin drop. Everyone's reactions were different. Ozzy looked bewildered; Drix was astonished, but something in his expression said that he wasn't surprised that Annabelle was part-virus, let alone Ebola. Almira's eyes were wide, and she looked…nervous?

But Thrax's expression stood out. His face held a mixture of shock, anger, and betrayal. He dropped Annabelle's hand and stepped back a couple of steps. "Y-you…yer part-Ebola?" He squeaked out.

Annabelle slowly nodded her head.

Suddenly, Thrax's face twisted into an angry, nasty glare. "You…you bitch!"

Annabelle felt a deep pain in her chest. "What?" She cried.

"You're part-Ebola? Of all viruses, Ebola?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Now Annabelle was angry.

Thrax shook Drix's hand from his shoulder. "In my viral days, Ebola was a case of dandruff compared to me! Ebola was the lower virus!"

"But is that reason enough to hate me because of who my father was?"

By now, both Thrax and Annabelle were yelling at each other; their raised voices were overlapping, so it was hard to determine who was screaming what. But the listening party could make out bits and pieces of curses and nasty names directed towards each other. Ozzy tried to step forward to break up the fight, but Drix held him back, shaking his head; it was dangerous to come between two people when they both had claw.

Dander was hiding behind Almira, peeking out at the fight, whimpering slightly. Almira glance back at the juvenile germ dog she considered a brother, and back at the fight. She had never expected Annabelle's heritage to include the "Dreaded E-Virus," as she secretly called it. She didn't harbor the same deep hatred towards Ebola as Thrax did—for good reason, knowing his dark past—so she didn't hold Annabelle's heritage towards her, but it was obvious that Thrax wasn't the same.

Finally, Annabelle slapped Thrax across the face. Everyone flinched at the loud crack that echoed across the room. "You know what, Thrax? I thought I could trust you with my secret. You, of all people! But I guess I was wrong. I don't know why you're so prejudiced against Ebola, but I don't think it's reason enough to be that way towards _me_! You're calling _me_ a bitch? You're a bastard! A bastard and a jackass! _That's_ what you are! Y-you know what? I'm outta here! And don't even _think_ of talking to me unless it's an apology! 'Cause I'm not talking to you until you apologize to me!" She pulled her glove back on, and stomped out of the door, slamming it shut behind her so hard, it bounced back open. She turned around, kicked it shut, and stormed out of the apartment, screaming in anger and frustration.

Thrax flinched, holding a hand to his stinging cheek; his flinch wasn't from the sound of the door slamming shut, but from her slamming and kicking it shut. Those actions brought back horrible memories; memories of him doing the same thing thirteen years ago, and what had happened after.

Breathing heavily, he removed his hand from his face. He felt a mixture of betrayal, anger, and the pain of reopened wounds that he thought had healed and scarred over. But with the revelation of Annabelle's heritage, those scarred wounds were sliced open once again, and bleeding.

He looked back at Ozzy and Drix, pondering on their reactions, being that they know why he raged over the simple fact that Annabelle was part-Ebola. "Whoa, part-virus," Ozzy muttered. "And Eb-I mean, you-know-what, too."

Drix rolled his eyes at Ozzy referring to Ebola as 'you-know-what,' but figured it wasn't a bad idea, having seen Thrax's reaction as well. "The poor dear had to live with it. She's right; it wasn't her fault about who her father was."

Thrax scoffed, laughing slightly. "Are ya kiddin' me?"

"What?" Ozzy asked.

But Drix knew what was going through the virus's head; he knew him well enough, and knew why he was so upset over this incident. "Oh, you think that because our friend's father was a breed of virus you hate, you think we're going to take your side? Oh, sure, let's hate all of said viruses, and any and all cells who have them as family members, just because of what one did to you. I understand why you would hate that type of virus, Thrax. I really do. But that doesn't mean you should automatically hate every virus or half-virus that happen to be that particular virus; especially not Annabelle. She has not given any of us any reason to harbor any hatred towards her. She has gone through Hell and back during life, but turned out all right. She even trusted us enough to learn her secret; especially you. But what do you do? You insult, yell at, and hurt her, proving that you aren't to be trusted with such a secret.

Drix shook his head, looking not unlike a parent disappointed in their child. "I don't regret anything, and I won't feel the same later, but at the moment, I'm ashamed to call you my friend."

Ozzy gasped softly; even Almira looked surprised at what the usually mellow Drix said. Thrax looked a little hurt and betrayed, but refused to say anything. He looked at Ozzy, but the white blood cell crossed his arms, his surprised expression turned to a scowl. He agreed with Drix; Annabelle was the nicest girl he knew, and didn't seem to have an evil bone in her body, metaphorically-speaking, of course. Yes, she was part-virus, but before they found out, there was never a doubt that she was.

Thrax glanced down at Almira, expecting some sympathy from his best friend. But to his surprise, she looked at him with a conflicted expression. He saw it in her eyes; she agreed with Drix and Ozzy.

With a growl, Thrax stormed out of the apartment. But everyone knew it wasn't to apologize to Annabelle. If the three of them knew Thrax, he wasn't going to speak to Annabelle anymore.

* * *

**A/N Dun-dun-duuuuun. BIG secret revealed.**

**I'm pretty sure it was at least a bit obvious that Annabelle's gloves were hiding claws. And THAT was the clue to deciphering Anna's heritage. After all, what virus (that I designed, at least) has short black claws? Ebola! BIG PLOT-TWIST!**

**On a side-note, we'll be meeting Annabelle's aunt and uncle later in the story ;)**

**Back to BPT (big plot-twist) If anyone has read "It's a Viral Life" you'll know why Thrax reacted the way he did about Annabelle being part-Ebola. In fact, my theory on the whole reason why he disliked Ebola in the OJ movie is told in IaVL. That subject will be covered later in the story, but for full details, read the fanfic; but I gotta warn ya, it's kinda dark.**

**Yeah, Thrax is kinda acting like a little kid, wanting to be comforted, when he was the one at fault for treating Annabelle like crap just because of her heritage. But hopefully he'll realize he's being a jerk, and will apologize.**

**BTW, keep in mind that Annabelle knows NOTHING about why Thrax hates Ebola; all she knows is he hates it, and is taking it out on her.**


	9. Chapter 9

**********************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**********************************Devilgirl123: You and I think alike, it seems :)**

**********************************Alu In Chains: I was sure you were gonna yell at him XD He needs a good yelling at...oh wait, he already got one XD**

**********************************Yeah, she will. She has nothing against Ozzy and Drix; it's just a certain stubborn red virus.**

**********************************I thought it was cute too :3**

**********************************He ain't called "The Mediator of the Group" for nothin'. I'm not sure if I said, but when Ozzy and Thrax are fighting, Drix is always the one to break them up; most of the time. he's able to do it before it gets physical.**

**********************************I think you said something about that :) I'm glad you like her so much.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Thrax had eventually returned to the apartment, and everyone calmed down. But that wasn't to say things went back to normal; far from it. They rarely saw any of Annabelle, which was strange, as she usually made an effort to see or call them to talk. But just as she promised, she was giving Thrax the cold shoulder. She didn't dare call anyone at the apartment, thinking Thrax would answer. If there was a remote chance they saw each other on the streets of Hector, Annabelle turned her head away and refused to acknowledge the virus; Thrax did the same.

She still talked fine with Ozzy and Drix; after all, they weren't the ones who screamed and insulted her for her heritage. In fact, the first things they said when they met after the incident were that they understood why it was to be kept a secret, and would keep it under wraps. She didn't ask about Thrax, but Drix said the virus knew to keep his mouth shut as well.

Annabelle had evidently told her friends about the incident, because when the Frank Quadric went to the police station for work, Martha was in Thrax's face, as he pressed back against the wall—not from fear, he later told Ozzy and Drix, but because she had pushed him there—and was yelling at him, cursing him out for hurting Annabelle like that. Drix had to pull her away from Thrax, and Ozzy calmed her down, saying Annabelle was giving him the cold shoulder. "Good." She nodded harshly. "The jerk deserves it."

Ursula wasn't as harsh as Martha had been, but she didn't go easy on Thrax either. Just her hot words and dark glare were enough to make Thrax squirm slightly, though he denied doing it.

But even with his and Annabelle's friends against him, he refused to apologize to Annabelle, being too stubborn to admit that what he did was wrong, much to the exasperation of Ozzy and Drix.

Ozzy and Drix tried to get Annabelle to talk to Thrax, thinking if they spoke to each other, Thrax would realize he had been a jerk, and would apologize. But her response was always the same, "I'm not the one at fault here; this is his doing. I'm not gonna talk to him until I get my apology."

This went on for several days. Ozzy and Drix didn't try to get them to talk as much, but on the occasion one of them were with Annabelle, they would bring it up. But Annabelle remained stubborn.

On one occasion that both the white blood cell and cold pill talked with Annabelle, Drix said, "I know what Thrax did was stupid and selfish, but he had a reason to."

Annabelle scoffed, "What reason is there to yell at me for being half-virus?" She kept her voice low, as she was on her break at work. Her co-workers had the idea that she wasn't a pure red blood cell, but she didn't want her secret to be totally out in the open; not after what happened when she revealed her secret to someone she thought she could trust. Plus, Megan would do anything to get dirt on Annabelle.

"I'm not going to say much, but something happened to Thrax, involving the you-know-what virus," Drix explained. "Something terrible happened, that shook Thrax."

Annabelle's face softened. If that was what the fuss had been about, then she supposed that was reason enough to get angry. But that wasn't a total excuse to take it out on her, when she hadn't done anything wrong, in her eyes. "What happened?" She asked.

Ozzy opened his mouth, but Drix covered it with his hand. "_That_ is private." He said to both of them, glaring at Ozzy.

He pushed Drix's arm away, scowling. "That's what I was gonna tell her. I ain't got loose lips!"

"The point is what happened in Thrax's past is personal and private."

"Why?"

"Because it's one of those things that he prefers to share only with people he can trust; surely _you_ can understand that." He raised an eyebrow at her, but relaxed when she nodded. "If you want to know what happened, you'll have to talk to him about it."

"Oh, no, I'm not talking with him. I already told you that _he_ has to come to _me_ first, not the other way around."

When they left the Bladed Shoulder, Ozzy groaned in frustration, "They're so _stubborn_! The both of 'em!"

"I agree, Ozzy. But Annabelle's made it perfectly clear that Thrax will have to come to her to apologize, which I don't see in the near future."

"Well, maybe we oughta take things into our own hands. You want them to be friends again, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if 'taking things into our own hands' will be wise. What we need is to convince Thrax that what he did was hurtful, and for him to not only apologize, but to explain his actions as well."

"That's either said than done, buddy. As I just said, Thrax is the most stubborn guy I know."

"That's why it would be better if I were to talk to him, seeing as I'm the appointed mediator in the group."

"Yeah," Ozzy nodded, agreeing. "Plus, you were able to shut 'im up the day he upset Anna. Tell ya what, Drix, whenever you wanna talk with the bullheaded virus, I'll take Martha out on a date, that way I'm outta the apartment, and am kept busy; you know how I get when I'm waitin' for somethin'. I get like I got ants in my pants."

"And we certainly wouldn't want that," Drix smirked, chuckling slightly. "Thank you, Ozzy. That means a lot. Plus, if Martha's any more like you, you two can keep yourselves busy waiting."

"Oh, we'll be keepin' busy all right, if ya know what I mean." He winked, laughing at Drix's disgusted face.

* * *

What Ozzy and Drix didn't know was that Thrax had gone to the Bladed Shoulder that evening. Why, he didn't know; he knew Annabelle had a shift that evening. But he was walking Almira, and his legs—and maybe Almira herself?—led him right inside the club. He saw Annabelle going up on stage, but paid no attention to her.

"Ah, Mr. Thrax," Mr. Cutis greeted at the bar, having been acquainted with all of Annabelle's friends outside her job. "How've you been?"

"Not too good as of late, Cutis," He said, sitting at the bar. "I'll take a couple of Insulin Shots."

"Sure," He nodded, getting the drinks. "What's the matter?"

Placing his jaw on his hand, Thrax sighed, "Me an' Annie got in a fight a couple of weeks ago, an' are givin' each other the cold shoulder."

Mr. Cutis's lips pursed as he set the glasses on the table. He raised an eyebrow at Almira lapping up one of the drinks, but shook it off. "What was the fight about?"

The virus chose his words carefully, "Well, she's part-virus, if ya hadn't figured it out. I ain't gonna reveal what she is, but…well, I didn't take it too good. See, that particular type of virus caused a bit of trauma in my earlier life, and to put it bluntly, I hate it. Now I find out Annabelle's daddy was that kind of virus, and…I exploded." He took a gulp of his drink, flinching at the sweet taste.

Mr. Cutis's hands were folded on the bar, listening to the story. "Hmm. Sounds like you're in quite a pickle, son. Were you close friends before this incident?"

"Yeah, pretty close."

"Did you like her? As in, you may have wanted to be romantically involved with her in the future?"

That question made Thrax pause. He hadn't thought about it at all; especially not after the incident. With a sigh, he shook his head, "I dunno. I didn't think about it."

"Well, it's no matter, I suppose. What matters is whether you want to make up or not. One of the greatest things you can have in life is friends. And to have a true friend, they need to trust you, and you need to trust them. And with this incident, I think you broke Annabelle's trust. She may not show it all the time, but she's hurt."

It was then Thrax heard Annabelle singing,

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn.  
Well, that's all right because I like the way it hurts.  
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry.  
Well, that's all right because I love the way you lie.  
I love the way you lie.  
Oh, I love the way you lie._

Mr. Cutis was right; she wasn't showing it directly, but Annabelle was still hurt, even after the last couple of weeks. "What you need to do, Thrax, is get your act together. Once you do that, be a man, and apologize to her." Mr. Cutis said as he began to clean the empty glasses. "Who knows? Maybe she'll forgive you."

Thrax sighed softly, and said, "I'll think about it." He was about to take out some carbs to pay for the drinks, but Mr. Cutis shook his head, "It's on the house tonight."

The virus smirked, "Thanks."

"Good luck."

He nodded, and turned towards the door, with Almira right behind. As soon as they stepped out of the Bladed Shoulder, they stepped into Thrax's car, and he drove home.

As soon as he stepped into the apartment, he knew something was up. Only Drix was home, and he looked like he was waiting for someone; more specifically, for Thrax. Because as soon as the virus walked in, Drix stood up. "Where's Jones?" Thrax asked.

"He's out on a date." Drix answered shortly. "You and I need to talk. And you know what it's about."

Sighing heavily, Thrax sat down on the couch. Almira sat on the couch next to him, and Dander sat on the floor by his foot. "All right, Bubble-Butt, I'm listenin'."

"I don't think you fully realize how much you hurt Annabelle. Let me finish!" Drix held up a hand when Thrax went to talk. "We—Ozzy and I—still talk with her these days. She's refusing to talk to you until you apologize, which Ozzy and I think you should. Think about it, Annabelle knows nothing about your past life. She doesn't know about your parents, your step-father, or what happened when you were seventeen. All she knows is that you hate Ebola, but she herself doesn't know why. All she knows is that as soon as she told us who her father was, you got angry, and took it selfishly out on her. She's hurt, Thrax. I think she wants you back as a friend, but is waiting for your apology, which I think you should give. She isn't the one at fault for having a viral father, which she had no control over; this is about you acting hurtful and selfishly towards her."

Thrax was silent throughout Drix's lecture, but was listening, as he said he was. This lecture, and the talk he had with Mr. Cutis, opened his eyes to the truth. His mind flashed back to the last time he and Annabelle had spoken to each other; that being the fight. He saw the anger in her eyes as they yelled at each other, but he also saw the hurt.

Drix was right. Annabelle didn't know why Thrax hated Ebola, and still didn't know. For all she knew, he blew up at her for no reason.

"You and her were really good friends, Thrax," Drix continued. "I think she liked you, in fact. But now…if you don't do something, talk to her, and apologize…you're going to lose her for good."

That definitely struck a chord in Thrax. He and Annabelle were good friends up until the incident. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had liked Annabelle a bit more than a friend. But now, he may have ruined everything. But that didn't mean it was too late to fix it.

Finally, he asked, "Do ya know where she lives?"

A smile appeared on Drix's face. "You're in luck, because I asked Martha for Annabelle's address before she and Ozzy left, and she gave me this piece of paper with her address." He handed Thrax a folded piece of paper.

Thrax stuck the paper in his coat pocket, and stood up off of the couch. Almira stood up to follow Thrax, but Drix said, "Almira, I think this is something Thrax needs to do on his own."

Almira's ears bent down, but she nodded, smiling slightly. Thrax stroked the hyena, giving her a scratch behind the ears, before turning on his heel towards the door. "Thrax?"

He turned back to the cold pill, who was petting Almira now. "Yeah?"

"Good luck." Drix winked.

Thrax nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Drix." _For settin' me straight._

* * *

**A/N I am on a roll lately! Some days I'm writing a mile-a-minute; others, I'm about the slowest person on the planet.**

**Personally, I'm with Annabelle on this; she didn't do anything wrong, and it's Thrax who should apologize and explain himself. But they're both stubborn as mules.**

**The song Annabelle was singing is "Love the Way You Lie" by Rihanna. It can be either part one or two, as the verse shown here is in both songs. But personally, I prefer the number two version**

**Guess Thrax's got his head on straight! But the question is this: will Anna accept his apology?**

**I might start working on other stuff, so this may get slow with updates again.**


	10. Chapter 10

**************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**************************************Devilgirl123: Ve shall see (Transylvanian vampire accent)**

**************************************Rowena BaronErikandSnapelover: It's only a brief explanation, so if you want full details, read the fanfic. Also, it's kind of grim and depressing (as Thrax puts it)**

**************************************Alu In Chains: OMG, that is genius! Hope you don't mind me using that idea. Can I borrow your brain for ideas sometime? 'Cause sometimes I get great ideas, and other times, my mind's at a blank.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

The drive to Annabelle's apartment, on one of the ribs, was an uneasy one. For one thing, Almira was usually, if not always, in the car with Thrax. So, now that she wasn't with him, it felt too quiet in the car, and he was lonely—not that he would ever admit it.

Thrax decided to eliminate the silence by turning on the radio. Right away, a rock song sounded from the radio,

_How could I cause you so much pain?_

_When I say I'm sorry,_  
_Will you believe me?_  
_Listen to my story,_  
_Say you won't leave me._  
_When I say—_

Thrax switched to another channel, scowling. That song reminded him too much of what he did wrong.

Another song played,

—_ome on, don't leave me like this,  
I thought I had you figured out.  
Something's gone terribly wrong,  
You're all I wan—_

He switched again, gritting his teeth. "I thought it was only in fiction that the radio hated people." He muttered.

—_took all the strength I had,  
Not to fall apart.  
Just trying hard to mend the pieces,  
Of my broken heart.  
And—_

"Goddammit!" Thrax snapped, deciding to give the radio one more chance before he either switched it off completely, or smashed it.

—_brother.  
And this I come home to, this is my shelter.  
It ain't easy growin' up in World War III,  
Never knowin what love could be, you'll see,  
I don't want love to destroy me like it has done my family.  
_

Thrax blinked in surprise, hearing the lyrics of the song. Against his better judgment, he listened to the song,

_Can we work it out? Can we be a family?  
I promise I'll be better. Mommy I'll do anything.  
Can we work it out? Can we—_

_Definitely not __that._ He though to himself. "Screw this," He muttered, switching off the radio. He instead concentrated on driving to Annabelle's apartment. The only sounds were the hum of the engine, and his claws tapping on the steering wheel.

Finally, after about half an hour, Thrax parked in front of an apartment building at the address on the paper Drix gave him. Thrax leaned against the back of the seat, sighing. He didn't know how he was going to talk to Annabelle, and those songs on the radio didn't help. He brushed his dreadlocks back, sighing again. _Dammit, why's this so hard?_

Finally, he stepped out of the car, and into the cool evening. He saw Annabelle walking into the building. He walked quickly after her into the lobby. "Annabelle!" He called. "Annie, wait."

Annabelle stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened at the sight of Thrax; she didn't keep walking and ignore him, but she didn't say anything either. Thrax was also happy she wasn't yelling at him. "Oh…hey, Thrax." She finally said.

"Belle, honey," A tall, fat bone cell said, glaring briefly at Thrax. "Is this guy bothering you?"

"No, Harry," She shook her head. "He's, uh, he's a friend."

The bone cell nodded, and went back behind the counter, but eyed Thrax suspiciously. "Harry was a friend of my mom's when she lived here, so he's kind of…oh, what's the word?"

"Protective?" Thrax suggested.

"In a way, yeah." Annabelle nodded. There was silence, save for low music playing in the background. The air was thick and awkward. Finally, she asked, "Did you need something?"

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to talk to you."

She pursed her lips for a second, but nodded slightly, "Okay. Let's go up to my apartment." She turned on her heel towards the elevator, evidently still a bit angry at Thrax.

He followed her into the elevator, and watched as she pressed the 3 button, and the elevator began to rise. Annabelle stayed in front of the buttons, crossing her arms, and leaning to the side a bit. Thrax stuck his hands in his pants' pockets and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, still looking at Annabelle. She was still in her work clothes. He was so used to seeing her in denim pants and sweaters, as it was nearing autumn, so seeing her in a skirt and leggings was a little strange.

Finally, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened with a ding. Thrax followed Annabelle out and to a door numbered 312. She unlocked the door, opened it, and stepped inside, with Thrax still inside.

It wasn't a very glamorous apartment. It consisted of a tiny kitchen with a refrigerator, toaster oven, oven, and sink. The living room had a couch, two arm chairs, a coffee table, and a small television set. There were some books on the coffee table. One thing they had in common was that they were about dogs, including choosing a dog, different dog breeds, and training a dog. "What up with the dog books?" He asked.

"Oh, I've been thinking of getting a dog," Annabelle explained, tossing her tan-colored handbag on the couch. "Speaking of which, where's Almira?"

"She's back at our apartment with Drix an' Dander." He said. "This, uh, is somethin' I need to do alone."

She nodded absentmindedly, sitting on the couch. She toed off her boots, revealing off-white socks on her feet, and folded her legs under her. Despite the work clothes, she looked very casual. She nodded at the arm chair near the couch nearest to her. Thrax sat down, fiddling with his chain. "That's an interesting necklace." Annabelle commented, probably to break the awkward silence.

"It ain't necessarily a necklace; it's more of a chain. I used it durin' work as a virus. The beads are hypothalamus beads. I kinda consider them souvenirs of the ol' days."

"Hmm." Annabelle hummed. Then, she asked sharply, "Why are you really here, Thrax?"

Sighing heavily, Thrax dropped the chain and sat up straight, putting his elbows on his knees. "I came to say I'm sorry."

"'Bout what?" She challenged, crossing her arms.

"Leapin' blazes, I think ya know." He brushed his dreadlocks back. "I'm sorry about yellin' at you when you said you were part…" He swallowed thickly. "Ebola. I guess I wasn't thinkin' straight."

"Damn straight!"

"I know, I was an idiot, an'—"

"And a bastard."

"And a bastard—"

"And a jackass." She was smirking by now.

"I get the idea! I was all that! Thing is, I got a real intense hatred towards Ebola, and hadn't come across any Ebola viruses, face-to-face, for…oh, seven years. I only said Ebola was a case of dandruff compared to me, an' talked about my past. An' I was a jerk for yellin' at you for bein' part-Ebola when you didn't have no control over it. So, I'm sorry."

"I can't really accept your apology until I know why you hate Ebola so much."

Thrax knew it would come to this; he had been dreading it ever since Mr. Cutis and Drix both told him to apologize to Annabelle. Sighing heavily, he said, "It's a long story, baby, as it involves more than Ebola to tell the whole thing. An' pretty grim an' depressing."

"I've got time for a long story," Annabelle said. "And I can handle grim."

_But not depressing?_ "All right. When I was twelve, a few months after my sister was born, my dad died. My mom remarried a drunkard virus, who found it necessary to beat me with a belt whenever I did something remotely wrong."

Annabelle's eyes widened, but she remained silent. "For three years, that was my punishment, whether I got into big trouble, or even small. When I was fifteen, he said I was too old for the belt. So, he substituted it for…for a whip. I got the scars from two years of it to prove it. In school, I had a best friend, who was an Ebola virus named Ed. We did everything together. He was the only one, other than Mom an' Amelia, my little sister, who knew about the abuse I was gettin'. As high school rolled around, when we were doin' killin' tests, which help us develop our killin' skills, our friendship was strained. Ed was gettin' real gloaty about him bein' at the top of the killin' tests; he had already been boastin' about Ebola bein' the better virus in the past.

"Eventually, when I was seventeen, I bested Ed at the last killin' test. I gave 'im a taste of his own medicine…though now that I look back, it may have been better if I hadn't. After school, I stayed at my girlfriend's house—"

"Whoa, hold on," Annabelle said, holding up a hand. "You had a girlfriend?"

"Key word bein' 'had'. She was a little too crazy an' possessive, if ya know what I mean. Anyway, I stayed the night at my girlfriend's house, an' when I came back…somethin' was wrong. I found the front door hangin' by the top hinge. Inside, I found my step dad dead on the kitchen floor. He had been murdered. In the living room…I…I found my mom lyin' dead on the coffee table. She had been murdered too. My little sister…Amy…was killed in her room." Thrax brushed away the tears falling down his face with his fist, sniffling. It was never easy to talk about his past. It was worse to talk about his family's death than it was to talk about the abuse he went through. "An' I know who did it. 'Cause they left a message, in my family's blood, on the wall in Amelia's room. It said, 'Red Death is a common cold compared to Ebola'. It was Ed." He growled.

Annabelle had been listening intently to the story. The revelation of Ed, an Ebola virus who had been Thrax's best friend, killing Thrax's family had shocked her to the core. It was no wonder Thrax hated Ebola so much. This wasn't hatred from Thrax trying to get Red Death to surpass Ebola; this was hatred against a best friend-turned-murderer.

"I left to start my killin' career, with also the intent on someday findin' an' killin' Ed. An' six years later, I got my wish. When I found him, I confronted him, an' he confessed to murderin' my family. He said it was because they were makin' me soft; because my mom was talkin' about me bein a vaccine, as opposed to a virus. We fought, an' I killed him, tellin' him that Ebola was a case of dandruff compared to Red Death."

Thrax sighed heavily, and sat back against the chair, turning to Annabelle, who still looked horrified, and had her hands to her mouth. "So, that's my story. It's why I'm so prejudiced against Ebola."

"…Thrax…" Annabelle whispered. "I'm so so—"

"No, stop right there, Annie," He interrupted, holding up a claw. "I'm the one who's apologizin' here. I took my anger towards Ebola out on you when you didn't do nothin', an' that wasn't fair. I'm sorry."

"But you had the worse of it." Annabelle brought her legs up, and was hugging them to her chest, with her chin on her knees. "I can't say I know how it feels to be physically abused, or to have a best friend betray me like that, but I know how it feels to lose a family to death. I never knew my father, with him dying before I was born, but I lost my mom when I was ten. And my aunt was not a good substitute for a mom. In the beginning, it was hard to talk about my mom without breaking down. It still isn't easy, but I've gotten to the point where I can actually smile in her memory."

"I try not to show emotion durin' the times I think of my family, especially when I was on the go…but some days…especially on the anniversary of their death…it's real hard." Tears were still falling down his cheeks.

Annabelle patted the couch to her right, silently asking Thrax to sit next to her. As he changed seats, she said, "I find it easier to talk with someone about my mom than just sitting alone, feeling miserable. My aunt never like talking about her, but my uncle was all ears. So…if you need someone to talk to, or even a shoulder to cry on…I'll be there." She smiled.

Thrax managed to crack a bit of a smile. The next thing he knew, he was hugging Annabelle, sobbing over her shoulder. Annabelle didn't say anything. She hugged him back, leaning her head against his neck, and rubbing his back. He didn't seem to care that the cool-cat, macho figure he established had shattered, revealing the tormented, scarred soul inside.

Finally, after several minutes, Thrax sat back, scrubbing the wet tears from his face. "Like I said, if you need someone to talk to, or cry on, I'll see if I can make time in my busy schedule." Annabelle grinned, patting his shoulder.

"Thanks, Annie." He said. After that heavy cry, he felt much better. But he had a feeling it was also from him apologizing to Annabelle, and revealing his dark secrets to someone else he could trust.

"And I accept your apology." She continued. "But you're gonna have to work hard to earn my trust again, mister." She raised an eyebrow, pressing her finger against his nose.

"No problem, baby." He answered, tapping her nose with his burner claw, making her laugh. Hearing her laugh again made him smile even wider. His thoughts turned to what Drix said earlier: _You and her were really good friends, Thrax. I think she liked you, in fact._ And what was it Mr. Cutis asked? About him maybe becoming romantically involved with Annabelle?

Thrax hadn't been lying when he said he had never thought about it. Sure he flirted with her, but that didn't mean he wanted to be with her. He flirted with a lot of girls. It was the way he was. But now that he thought about it, and about the past two months of knowing her, he realized that before the incident, maybe he had some feelings towards Annabelle, but hadn't noticed them after blowing up at her. But what about now?

Before he could say anything, the phone began ringing. "Excuse me, please," Annabelle grinned sheepishly, getting off of the couch. She picked up the phone. "Hello?" She said. "Oh, hey. Yeah, I know I said I'd call you, but I got kinda distracted." She rolled some hair around her finger as she listened to the person on the other line. "Mmm…yeah, I'm free Saturday afternoon. Sure. All right, I'll call you when I'm not distracted. A friend came over. No, I'm not gonna—look, I'm gonna call you later, okay? Okay, bye." She hung up the phone, snorting slightly.

"Friend of yours?" Thrax guessed.

"Uh, no. Boyfriend."

Thrax's eyes widened in surprise. He could have sworn he felt a slight pain in his chest, but ignored it. "Didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"It was a couple days after 'The Incident', and he came into work. We were actually classmates in high school, but we rarely made social contact. We talked for a bit, and we ended up going out. It's been about half a month, actually."

"Ah, okay." Thrax nodded, standing up. "Well, it's gettin' late, an' I may as well be gettin' home."

"All right, then," Annabelle smiled, hugging Thrax. "See you later then?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "See ya later." He walked out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him. He glanced back before walking down the hall and stairs.

The drive home was a silent one, though it wasn't as uneasy as the drive to Annabelle's apartment had been.

When he came into the apartment he shared with Ozzy and Drix, Almira ran up to him, barking happily. He scratched her head, ruffling her bangs. "Hey, Red," Ozzy greeted. "Drix told me where you went. How'd it go?"

"I apologized, explained everything, an' she accepted it." He said shortly.

"Great!" Ozzy grinned. "So, how 'bout we go on a triple date sometime, huh?"

"Triple date?"

"You know, me and Martha, Drix and Maria, and you and Annabelle."

"Hold on, Jones," Thrax frowned. "Annabelle an' I aren't datin'."

"Why not?"

"Because for one thing, Ozzy." Drix said from the tiny kitchen, where he was washing dishes. "People don't just apologize after a fight, and immediately start dating."

"An' for another, she's got a boyfriend."

Ozzy and Drix both blinked in surprise before the white blood cell snapped his fingers, exclaiming, "Awww, so close!"

"What the hell are you, Cupid? Who says I was gonna ask her to be my girlfriend in the first place? Heck, why would she say 'yes', after what happened, if I _did_ ask her?" He raised an eyebrow before turning on his heel towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower. No one disturb me."

Almira, Ozzy, and Drix stayed where they stood. Ozzy turned to the two of them, and asked, "Who wants to bet he don't like it that Annabelle's datin' now?"

Drix and Almira rolled their eyes, but the thought did pop up in their minds.

* * *

**A/N Daaammmnnn, this is the longest chapter I've written for this fanfic!**

**Mood-appropriate songs popping up on the radio was an idea borrowed from Alu In Chains (see review for Chapter 9) The songs are all on my iPod, so choices were kinda limited. The first song is "Sorry" by Daughtry. The second is "Haunted" by Taylor Swift. The third is "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. The fourth, which has nothing in common with the first three, is "Family Portrait" by P!nk. That song, I think, goes well with Thrax's dark childhood.**

**Awkward moment in the apartment. Gotta love those :3**

**As Thrax said, his past is grim and depressing. Like I said in the Review Replies, it's only a brief explanation, with not too many details. But it certainly gets the point across. Sorry for making Thrax kinda sappy. But I think the death of anyone close to you, be it family, friend, or pet, is really hard to talk about, and the person telling it-in this case, Thrax-will get emotional; especially when they don't talk about it a lot. But this is my opinion.**

**I know, I know you hate me for giving Anna a boyfriend who's not Thrax. BUT, big but (WHY DID I SAY THAT? XD) this is all part of the story. And I assure you it will get dramatic, but real juicy; maybe even realistic (gasp!)**

**I guess Ozzy's a Thrax/Annabelle shipper too XD**


	11. Chapter 11

******************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

******************************************Rowena BaronErikandSnapelover: We meet him in this chapter. Thrax is gonna play the friendly guy, no matter if he likes Annabelle's boyfriend or not.**

******************************************Devilgirl123: Really? It was that obvious? XD**

******************************************Alu In Chains: Cool :D Thanks.**

******************************************Thanks, I think so too. I think that whether Thrax is portrayed as good or evil, he's still a gentleman underneath.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"I know."

Ozzy blinked in surprise. "Whatta ya mean you know?"

"I know that Annabelle has a boyfriend. They've been together for about half a month." Martha said, sipping her soda.

She and Ozzy, and Drix and Maria were at the boardwalk, talking and drinking sodas. Thrax was on the beach, playing fetch with Almira, and Ursula was reading on another table near the double-dates.

"She tells us everything," Martha continued. "And she wasn't gonna tell Thrax at the time."

"All right, understandable," Drix said, not wanting an argument to arise. Martha was still mad at Thrax for hurting Annabelle.

"Yeah, he was one of our high school classmates. He never made social contact with Annabelle, but get this: he told Annabelle that he always had a crush on her, but never talked to her because he didn't want to be called 'uncool' by talking to her." Martha continued, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, so this guy has a high school crush on Annabelle, but doesn't tell her until adulthood?" Ozzy asked. "Dude, if I had a crush on a girl, I'd make it known to her right away!"

"What if she wasn't socially accepted, and it would ruin your 'cool' reputation to talk to her?" Maria challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"I already got a good rep, Maria," Ozzy said proudly. "Some weird girl ain't gonna ruin it."

"So, I'm weird?" Martha smirked.

Ozzy's eyes widened, realizing his mistake. "Oh, I didn't mean you were weird, Marty. I meant—"

"I know what you meant. Besides, I'm the kind of girl who takes being called weird as a complement."

"…Cool." He grinned.

"Martha? Maria?"

The female white blood cells turned to see Annabelle on the sidewalk. With her was a male red blood cell with shaggy hair, and glasses. He wore a green sweater with the sleeves rolled up, dark-blue slacks, and dark-brown boots.

"Hey, Anna, Jason," Martha greeted. "What're you two doin' here?"

"Just walking around." Annabelle shrugged. "Hey, Ozzy and Drix."

"Hello, Annabelle." Drix nodded.

Ursula waved, still reading her book. "This your boyfriend?" Ozzy asked.

"Yeah. This is Jason Radcliffe. Jason, you already know Martha and Ursula. This is Maria Amino, Osmosis Jones, Martha's boyfriend, and Drix, Maria's boyfriend."

Jason nodded at the people introduced. "Didn't Annabelle say she had another friend?" He asked.

"Yeah. Where's Thrax?" She asked.

"He's down on the beach with Almira." Drix explained.

"Yo, Red! Mira!" Ozzy yelled. "Annabelle's here!"

Thrax and Almira both heard him, and came trotting up on the boardwalk. "Hey, Annie," Thrax greeted. He turned to the male cell with her. "Who's he?"

"My boyfriend I mentioned, Jason Radcliffe. Jason, this is Thrax Muerja."

"Nice to meet you, Jase." Thrax greeted, holding out a clawed hand.

"Um, I prefer to be called Jason." He corrected, tentatively shaking the virus's hand. He seemed to be uncomfortable around either claws or viruses.

"Mm, suit yerself." Thrax shrugged. "This is my baby girl, Almira. She don't like strangers. Drix wants to try an' work around that so she ain't tryin' to bite 'em."

"She bites?"

"Only if provoked. She's had a hard past, an' don't trust strangers."

"I can see by the scars." Annabelle said sympathetically.

"Shouldn't she be on a leash?" Jason asked, crossing his arms. "So you could at least control her?"

"I can control her just fine without a leash." Thrax countered. "'Sides, she hates leashes."

"Just the ones that go on her collar?" Annabelle asked, tapping her chin with her finger.

"Whatta ya mean?" Ozzy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ain't that where leashes go? On the collar?"

"Not all the time. There're these harnesses dogs can wear, and have the leash attached. Maybe that'll be better for Almira. Plus, since she's an Immunity dog, she can have an official Immunity dog harness."

"She's an Immunity dog?" Jason asked incredulously.

"She's actually a hyena, but yes," Drix nodded. "Ozzy, Thrax, Maria, Martha, and I are all part of the Immunity."

"The virus is an Immunity officer?"

"The virus is right here," Thrax frowned. "An' technically, I'm a vaccine."

"Can we not argue about this?" Maria asked. "This isn't about who's on the Immunity, or who's not; this is about gettin' Almira a leash. I'll see what I can do about gettin' her an Immunity dog harness. I'll have to take measurements of her chest, stomach, legs, and neck."

"We can do that tomorrow." Thrax offered. "Thanks for the tip, Annie."

"Sure thing." She nodded, smiling. She waved as she and Jason continued down the sidewalk.

"What a nice man." Drix commented.

Thrax rolled his eyes. "Did you see the way he looked at me?"

"Seriously?" Maria groaned.

"Jones, did you see the way he looked at me?"

"Sure did, Red," Ozzy nodded.

"Jason does _not_ like you." Ursula commented.

"How do you know if he looked at him funny?" Drix asked the muscle cell. "You were reading."

"I stopped five minutes ago. I just didn't say anything. And Thrax is right. Jason was kinda giving him a glare."

"I saw too. He does _not_ like you, buddy." Martha grinned.

"Why wouldn't he like Thrax?" Drix asked.

"Maybe it's because he's a virus?" Maria guessed.

"Or maybe he's afraid he's either gonna steal Annabelle, or she's gonna go to him." Martha guessed.

"Okay, I may have done a lot of unforgivable things, but there are some I won't stand for: any kind of abuse, rape, an' cheatin'." Thrax frowned deeply, counting off on his claws as he spoke. "An' I hope Annie's the same way."

"She is," Martha nodded. "She would never cheat on her boyfriend."

"Has she ever had a boyfriend before Jason?" Ozzy asked.

"No, but both teachings and common sense told her not to cheat when she gets a boyfriend."

"It's nice that even thought you were a virus, who had killed many people, you were still a gentleman inside." Ursula commented, smiling.

"I'm free for the pickin', Ursula." He grinned, holding out his arms.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not looking for anyone."

"Remember what my mom said." Martha grinned mischievously.

"I don't care what your mom says, Martha. It's stupid."

"What does she say?" Ozzy asked.

"'If a girl's not looking for a guy, she's looking for the opposite.'"

Ursula scowled darkly as everyone laughed. "I'm sorry, Ursula," Drix chuckled, wiping a tear away. "It's just funny."

"All kidding aside," Maria said, calming herself down. "Maybe Jason doesn't like Thrax because he's a virus, and because he and Annabelle seem friendly already. What was he like in high school?"

"The kind of guy who wanted to be cool, and so followed the 'cool' guys," Martha answered. "I'm not sure how he is towards viruses though."

"Well, we only met him today," Drix pointed out. "So, maybe if we get to know him, he may turn out to be different."

* * *

**A/N So, we meet Anna's boyfriend. This guy was actually gonna be in a sequel to my cancelled WWIII story (the same that Annabelle and her friends come from) And as in this story, Jason and Annabelle went to school together, and he had a crush on her, but never said anything. What's different is him being a red blood cell (obviously, as he was originally human) and him not telling Annabelle because with her being the main misfit in high school, it would be "uncool" to even talk to her.**

**This also marks some new changes for Almira. One, though it isn't obvious, she's gonna be "therap-ized" (...new word XD) to not be so savage towards strangers. Meaning she'll allow them to pet her, but she won't bite or growl. After all, she's an Immunity dog (hyena) which is equal to a police dog in our world; she's supposed to be friendly. Another is she'll wear a dog harness, which will give her a leash. The reason she hates leashes is because when she was trained to be a fighting dog early in her life, she was chained to trees and teased, and the chains pulled at her neck, hurting her. But with the harness, she won't have this problem. Plus, it's stylish :3**

**Oh, looks like Jason doesn't like Thrax. But why? Is it because he's a virus? Is it because he's friends with Annabelle? Or is Jason afraid Thrax will try and steal Annabelle, or that Annabelle will go to him? What do you think?**


	12. Chapter 12

**********************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**********************************************Devilgirl123: Ehh, I'm not so sure about that...**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

That evening, Annabelle was lying on her couch, reading a book. But try as she might, she couldn't really concentrate. Her mind kept going back to what happened between her and Jason after introducing him to her friends…

_Annabelle and Jason were sitting at the park in front of the brain, talking. "So, what did you think of my friends?" She asked._

"_Well, I already knew Martha and Ursula." Jason grinned._

"_Yeah, I know," Annabelle chuckled. "But what about the others? Maria, Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax?"_

_Jason's smile faltered at the mention of the virus, but it only happened for a split second, so she wondered if she imagined it. "Yeah, they seem cool. I think I've seen Maria on Immunity patrols, but I've never seen the others. Are they from around here?"_

"_No. They came here about a couple years ago from a different body. They've had quite the adventures."_

"_The hyena come here too?"_

"_Yeah. She's mainly Thrax's pet, but since they all live in the same apartment—not sure how, as it probably gets crowded—she's the whole gang's pet."_

"_But doesn't she not like other people?"_

"_Thrax said she doesn't like strangers. And Ozzy and Drix aren't strangers to her."_

_Jason had his hands folded on the table he and Annabelle were sitting at, and his expression looked conflicted, as though he wanted to talk to Annabelle about something, but wasn't sure how to word it. "Something on your mind?" She asked._

"_Yeah. I'm not really sure how to word this." He took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. "Annabelle, I don't mean to be rude, but I really think you should hang out with Martha and Ursula, and maybe Maria more."_

_Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm confused. What do you mean? I already hang out with Martha and Ursula. And yes, sometimes Maria joins when she's not at work."_

"_I mean more than with Jones, Drix, and Thrax."_

"_They're my friends too!"_

"_I know, but they're guys. I just think you should be with your girl friends."_

"_Why can't I be with my guy friends? You think I'll cheat on you? Because I would never—"_

"_I never said that."_

"_Then what is it? Are you afraid one of them will try and steal me away?" Annabelle's voice had risen by now, and she was getting a little angry. "For your information, Jason, Ozzy and Drix already have girlfriends, so they won't be interested in me."_

"_What about the virus?" Jason challenged, crossing his arms._

"_He wouldn't do a think like that."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_I know him! I've known him for over two months! Him __and__ Ozzy and Drix! And I know he wouldn't do a thing like that!" Annabelle sat back against her chair, sighing heavily. "Look, you can't tell me who to see, or who not to see. They're my friends too, and I have a right to see and talk with them."_

"_Just forget it," Jason waved his hand. "Forget it ever happened."_

"_I'd like that."_

But she didn't forget it. In fact, the conversation kept playing itself in her head over and over. It didn't make any sense. Annabelle felt she should be able to be with any of her friends, regardless of gender. If any of her guy friends had a reputation for dating girls who already had boyfriends, then she would understand Jason's concern. But she knew them, and they didn't seem to be capable of such a thing.

But it never hurt to have a second opinion.

Annabelle set her book on the coffee table, grabbed the phone off of the same coffee table, and began dialing a number on the buttons. She rolled onto her stomach as she held the phone to her ear, listening for an answer. It was a couple of minutes before, "Hello?"

"Hey, Maria."

"Oh, hey, Annabelle."

"This isn't a bad time, is it?"

"No, I just got out of the shower. Whatcha need?"

"I need your opinion on something, and I felt you were the best person for the situation."

"Shoot."

Annabelle explained the conversation between her and Jason earlier that day. "Doesn't it seem weird that Jason would ask me to not hang out with the guys?"

"Kinda. I mean, some guys _are_ a bit overprotective of their girlfriends." Maria said.

"But do _you_ forbid Drix to be with female friends?"

"I let him hang out with you and your friends, don't I?"

"Yeah, that's true." Annabelle laughed. "Hey, do Jason or I need to worry about Thrax trying to 'steal me away'?"

"Aw, no," Maria said firmly. "Not at all. After you left, we were talking about why Jason was giving Thrax a funny look,"

"What funny look?"

"Just a look you give someone that you don't like. Anyway, we wondered whether it was because Thrax was a virus, and Jason didn't like him for that, or if he was worried about 'competition,' if you know what I mean. Thrax was very clear that he did _not_ stand for any kind of abuse, rape, or cheating."

"I can see the abuse. Did he tell you about his childhood?"

"Yep, about a month or two before he met you."

"It's nice he doesn't like those things, despite his past. Makes him a gentleman."

"That's what Ursula said about him."

"Hmm. Well, back to Jason. I told him he couldn't tell me who to see or not to see. He's not the boss of me."

"You go girl!" Maria laughed. "And anyway, the relationship's still early. Maybe Jason will realize he's not bein' fair in not lettin' you see all your friends, and will come around."

"I hope so. Thanks, Maria."

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye." Annabelle hung up the phone, and placed it back on the coffee table. She rolled onto her back, happy that she had backup. Maybe Maria was right. She and Jason had only been dating for about half a month. Maybe he would come around in the future.

* * *

**A/N So, we learn a bit more about Jason. I think he's both afraid of losing Annabelle (cause Thrax IS pretty attractive, for a virus, in a cell's point of view, as we all know :3) and he doesn't like Thrax at all. But he's not stupid, so he's not going to say that right away. He just wants Annabelle to be with her own gender.**

**Am I hypocritical that I wrote that, but I don't agree with it? I mean, a girl can have both male and female friends, and same with a guy. But when said guy/girl is dating, should they automatically avoid other girls/guys respectively? Then again, since I've never had a boyfriend, and have close to no friends outside the Internet (is that sad or what? It's a combination of being homeschooled, and living out in the middle of nowhere) I could be weird. But I think you should stick with your friends, no matter the gender, even if dating. And above all, trust your friends not to steal you or your girl/boyfriend.**

**Anyway, I decided to have Annabelle chat with Maria because I wanted her to see Maria as a new best girl friend, and thus goes to her for some advice. So, how do you think this will go? Is it true love for Anna and Jason? Or is Thrax a better man for her? My god, this sounds like Twilight 0_0 Sorry for pointing that out, Twilight haters ^^;**


	13. Chapter 13

**************************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**************************************************Devilgirl123: True that.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

For the next month of dating Jason, Annabelle was sure that he wasn't warming up to Thrax, much less the Frank Quadric.

Reason one: every time she mentioned any of their names, Jason would scowl or groan, toss his head in an exasperated manner, or simply change the subject, not wanting to talk about them. She understood him not liking Thrax, with him being a virus. But she didn't understand why he wouldn't like Ozzy, him being a regular white blood cell, or Drix, being a cold pill, designed to help the immune system.

Reason two: whenever she and he were walking around the streets of Hector, and they met up with any of the Frank Quadric, Jason would either try to "subtly" hurry her on, or simply ignore the guys as she talked with them. But he made it known that he didn't like it after.

Most people would either tell Annabelle she was thinking too much into it, or believe her, and wonder why she stays with a man like that. Annabelle had thought she was overthinking it at first as well. But an event happened that made her change her mind about that.

She and Jason were at the boardwalk one afternoon. Soon, they came face-to-face with none other than the Frank Quadric, including Almira, who was sporting a new dog harness and leash. The dog harness started under her collar, and ended between her stomach and ribcage. There were Immunity badges on both sides of the harness on her arms, and the rest of the harness was light-blue with various dark-blue amoeba designs. Her leash, which was attached in the middle and on the back of the harness, was also dark-blue; the person holding the end was Thrax Muerja himself.

"Hey, how's it going?" Annabelle greeted, ignoring Jason tugging her arm slightly. "How's the harness working out?"

"Pretty good," Thrax smiled. "She didn't like the leash at first, but she's gettin' used to it. Plus, she looks real good in it, huh, Mira, baby?"

"Wuff-wuff!" Almira barked in agreement, smiling slightly, wagging her flame-like tail.

"Yeah, she looks nice," Annabelle said. "Plus, everyone knows she's an Immunity dog."

"She didn't like the harness either." Drix remarked. "But that's to be expected, as she's used to only wearing a collar."

"For once, I agree with Thrax. She looks real good in it." Ozzy added, scratching behind Almira's ear.

"Yes, she looks nice," Jason said. "Anna, shall we continue on?"

"We borin' you?" Thrax asked, grinning.

"We just have someplace to be." Jason answered, gritting his teeth slightly.

"Well, we won't keep you," Drix said politely. "We'll just be on our way. It was nice seeing both of you."

"Nice seeing you too." Annabelle agreed, smiling. But as she and Jason passed the others, she glared at her boyfriend. "Why were you so rude?"

"I don't like being stopped." Jason said simply, and remained tightlipped about the subject for the rest of the day.

After that, Annabelle knew she wasn't over thinking. Jason definitely didn't like her male friends for a reason. Again, she could see him not liking Thrax, but why dislike Ozzy and Drix? Granted, Ozzy had that attitude that made him a guy who played by his own rules, and was a sucker for praise, but Drix played by the book, and rarely went against the rules.

Sighing heavily, Annabelle grabbed her phone off of the coffee table, and began dialing a number. The phone on the other line rang a couple of times before there was an answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Aunt Evelyn." Annabelle greeted, sitting in an arm chair.

"Oh, hello, Annabelle!" Her aunt said cheerfully. "How are you, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. I was wanting to talk to Uncle Peter. Is he home?"

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing too serious, I just want to talk to Uncle Pete about it."

"What is it?"

Annabelle rolled her eyes, biting her lip to not groan. Her aunt had always wanted to know every little problem Annabelle had. She didn't really blame her, as her aunt was her "mother-figure" in half her childhood, but there were some things her uncle understood better, and were easier to talk about. But Aunt Evelyn always thought she should be the one her niece should go to.

"Fine, he's here," Evelyn said, sounding a bit exasperated.

After a few seconds, there was a slightly-gruff male voice, "Who is this?"

"It's Annabelle."

"Annabelle who?"

"Annabelle, as in your niece, Uncle Peter." Annabelle laughed. Her uncle was always the joker of her family, and played tricks like this ever since she could remember.

"Oh, Annabelle!" He laughed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I was wanting to talk to you about something; something I could ask without getting criticized."

"Of course," Uncle Peter agreed, knowing all about Evelyn thinking and making it loudly known that their niece was never perfect. "What's going on, Bunny-Rabbit?"

Annabelle smiled at the old nickname her uncle had for her as a child. "See, I'm dating this guy—"

"Oh? Who?"

"He's from school actually: Jason Radcliffe."

"Radcliffe? Never knew he saw anything in you."

"Me either. He said he had a crush on me in high school, but his peers wouldn't like it if he talked to me."

"'Course," He scoffed. "So he decided to make his love for you known now?"

"Pretty much."

"And how is he treating you?"

"Fairly, for the most part. But there's this one particular thing." She moved in her chair so she was lying horizontal across the arms of the chair. "See, a couple months ago, I met these three guys, and their pet hyena."

"_Three_ guys?" Peter joked.

"Not like that!" She protested. "They're just really good friends. They're all in the Immunity."

"Nothing wrong with making friends with good officers."

"True," She nodded. "There's Osmosis Jones, a white blood cell, a cold pill named Drix, and a virus-turned-vaccine named Thrax. The hyena is a germ named Almira, who's mainly Thrax's pet."

"Sounds like quite a slew of characters. How do _they_ treat you, friend-wise?"

"Pretty good. There _was_ one argument Thrax and I got into when I revealed 'the secret'."

"What happened?"

"He just doesn't like Ebola. It's a private family matter. But back to the main subject. Jason met these guys—Martha, Ursula, and I call them the Frank Quadric, as they came from this other body named Frank—and he…eh, Jason doesn't really like them."

"What do you mean? Does he know they're in the Immunity?"

"Yes. He couldn't believe Thrax and Almira were in the Immunity. The thing is after he met them, he told me he'd rather I hang out with my girl friends, including Drix's girlfriend, Maria, who's also in the Immunity."

"What? Why would Jason say a thing like that?"

"I don't know, he never specified. He kinda dances around the subject. My friends and I think he either doesn't like them, he specifically doesn't like Thrax—which I can understand, with him being a virus—or he thinks one of the guys are gonna steal me away, or I'm gonna cheat on Jason with one of them."

"Would you?" Peter asked sternly. Annabelle could just see him raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not. Besides, Ozzy and Drix already have girlfriends."

"What about Thrax?"

"Maria told me that he said he seriously dislikes any kind of abuse, rape, and cheating. So, he's not a cheater."

"Sounds like quite the gentleman."

"I know, that's what Maria, Ursula, and I said." Annabelle giggled.

"So let me get this straight: you're dating a guy who doesn't want you with any male company?"

"I'm only assuming that family's an exception. Now…I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it to stay with him." She spun some hair around her finger on her free hand. "I like him, but I don't like that he's basically trying to control what friends I have."

"I see." Peter sighed. "Well, Annabelle, this may sound incredibly cheesy, but I think you'll have to go with your gut and heart, metaphorically-speaking. If Jason doesn't sound like he's the right guy, then he probably isn't. That's all I can say."

"Thanks, Uncle Pete," Annabelle smiled. "I think I needed to hear it. I'll think about it. If Jason doesn't change, I'm gonna break up with him.'

"Be careful, Bunny-Rabbit, some people don't take breakups so easily."

"I'll be careful. Plus, like you said, I've made friends with good officers."

"True that," Peter laughed.

The two talked longer, and Annabelle talked with her aunt as well, but remained tightlipped about the conversation between her and her uncle. When she put the phone back on the table, she felt a little more confident that other people didn't think she was over-thinking about Jason's attitude towards her friends. She decided that in the next few days if Jason didn't change, they weren't meant to be.

* * *

**A/N I might draw Almira in her new harness sometime; plus, it'll have her now-canon scars from her dog-fighting days.**

**Looks like Jason really doesn't like Annie's male friends. It's not just Thrax; he doesn't seem to like Ozzy and Drix either. Does he seem worth it to stay with?**

**This is only a voice-intro to Annabelle's aunt and uncle. Because of her aunt saying Annie wasn't perfect and never would be (is that verbal abuse?) Annabelle is closer to her uncle, and goes to him for advice the most out of her family.**

**I think Annabelle's childhood nickname, Bunny-Rabbit, is kinda cute. Since it'll be a while before she explains it in the fanfic, it's like this: like a rabbit, Annabelle has the appearance of a sweet person, which she is. But get her angry, or threaten her, and the claws come out...sometimes literally. Even though a rabbit may appear cute and cuddly, they can defend themselves. Watership Down wasn't exaggerating with the rabbit violence.**


	14. Chapter 14

******************************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

******************************************************Devilgirl123: That's quite true.**

******************************************************Alu In Chains: Ch. 11: Thanks XD They're becoming one of my favorite OC/Canon couples.**

******************************************************I think that Thrax wouldn't show such emotions like that. It would come from him having to show limited emotions on the job, as he thought he would be considered weak otherwise. Even though he's on the good side, he still has some traits from his bad side; such as not playing by the rules, and not showing many emotions.**

******************************************************He actually feels threatened by Thrax because 1: He's already friends with Annabelle, and had a chance to be with her before; 2: Thrax is a big guy, and an Immunity officer to boot, so he's pretty threatening.**

******************************************************Ch. 12: I think so too :)**

******************************************************Probably. That seems to happen both in fiction, and real life.**

******************************************************Well, thanks very much :) I'm glad you like that.**

******************************************************Ch. 13: Isn't it? :3 Yeah, I guess so. Despite her being a perfectionist, she was still Annie's guardian, and was a decent one. I like her uncle too :D**

******************************************************True, but sometimes being told advice (even if it's the same as another piece of advice) can encourage a person to do something.**

******************************************************Not yet. But the next event may make her think over the choice ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The day after the talk with her aunt and uncle, Annabelle decided to go to the movie theater. At work, one of her co-workers mentioned Hector and Christine, his girlfriend, were going to see a romantic movie called _Twilight_. Annabelle decided to go by herself, as Jason didn't like romantic films, and Martha, Ursula, and Maria had other plans.

Upon stepping into the theater, Annabelle's dark-blue eyes spied a familiar red figure. "Thraxy!" She called, waving a hand in the air. "Hey, Red!"

Thrax's head turned at the yell. A grin spread on his face as he spotted the half-red blood cell. "Hey, Annie," He greeted, walking up to her. "How's it goin'?"

"I'm fine. What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"This is my day off. An' I came here 'cause I was bored at home."

"Where's Almira?"

"Jones and Drix borrowed her for a job. There's rumors of some big-shot germ makin' illegal drugs. Somethin' about mind-controllin' animals."

"That sounds like something from a movie."

"You're tellin' me, baby. But Jones an' Drix were assigned to sniff out some clues."

"And let me guess, Almira's doing the main sniffing?" Annabelle asked humorously, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much. So, what're _you_ doin' here?"

"A co-worker said something about Hector going with his girlfriend to see a movie. So, I decided to go. Since we're both here, wanna go together and split the expenses?"

"Won't yer boyfriend object?"

"He doesn't control my life," She retorted, crossing her arms. "Besides, what he don't won't hurt him. If he asks, I'll say I was with one of my girl friends." She added with a mischievous smirk.

"Ooh, naughty girl, you shouldn't be lyin'," Thrax grinned, shaking a finger at Annabelle as she stepped past him, facing away from him. "You need a good spanking." With that, he smacked her jean-clad butt hard, making a loud crack.

Annabelle jumped, squealing in surprise. She looked back at him, trying to glare. Instead, she was laughing. "Jackass!" She snapped, still laughing.

"Call me what you will, baby. All I gotta say that is one fine-lookin' ass." Thrax leered, glancing down at Annabelle's hips.

"Okay, if you're gonna be looking back _there_, you better go home." She said, pointing out the door.

"I'm just jokin', Annie," Thrax chuckled. "What're you seein'?"

"Whatever Hector's seeing. He and Christine are seeing some movie called '_Twilight_.' You game?"

"Sure," Thrax shrugged.

They both payed for their tickets, and both bought sodas—Thrax chose a diet soda, much to Annabelle's amusement—and a large polypcorn to split. By the time they got seated, Hector and Christine were already seated, waiting for the movie to begin. "How's it goin' with Jason?" Thrax whispered, spearing a kernel of polypcorn with his burner claw and flicking it into his mouth.

"Same old," Annabelle sighed. "He's getting more and more intent on making me only have female friends. But he can't tell Annabelle Waters what to do!"

"'Atta girl," Thrax smirked. "Why don't you take off yer gloves? It's dark in here; no one'll notice."

Annabelle nibbled her lower lip in thought. Eventually, she pulled off her gloves, and shoved them in the pocket of her jeans. She poked her claw into a polypcorn kernel, and flicked it into her mouth. She chewed with a cheeky smile, making Thrax chuckle.

Throughout the movie Hector and Christine were watching, the humans mostly kept quiet, whispering a comment to the other every now and then. Annabelle and Thrax were mostly silent as well, sipping their drinks, or chewing their polypcorn every now and again. Annabelle had wondered if Thrax would complain or fall asleep as soon as the human movie turned into a romantic one. But when she glanced at him, he was still watching, occasionally raising an eyebrow, as if confused or surprised at the movie.

After the movie ended, and Annabelle pulled her gloves back on, Thrax drove her home. On the way, they were both talking about the movie Hector and Christine had seen. Both humans had thought the movie wasn't very good, and the Red Death virus and half-red blood cell had to agree.

"Y'know, when I was a kid, vampires were scary creatures that sucked human blood, and disintegrated in the sun." Thrax said as they stepped into the elevator at Annabelle's apartment building. "But that film seems to think they're drop-dead gorgeous creatures who can suck blood from animals, and sparkle in the sunlight; basically, they're sparkly fairies!"

Annabelle laughed at that analogy. "In the opening credits, it said it was based on a book."

"Seriously?" He pulled a surprised face at the statement. "Must not be a good book then."

"It's popular with teenagers."

"'Course it is."

"You didn't like Bella? Wasn't she beautiful?" She laughed at Thrax's disgusted expression.

"More like boh-ring! And that girl was a _horrible_ actress. _Anyone_ can be a better actress!" They both laughed, but eventually calmed down, sighing. They were at Annabelle's apartment by now. "However, that movie _did_ teach me somethin' good."

"What? Don't fall in love with a vampire?"

"That, and a vampire kiss."

Annabelle raised an eyebrow. "Do I wanna know what that is?"

"I'll show you. Tilt yer head back." He chuckled at her still-confused expression. "Trust me." He also pulled her closer to him, but she either didn't notice, or didn't care.

Regardless, she tilted her head back. She could only see the ceiling, but felt Thrax's hot breath on her neck. Then, his warm lips pressed on her throat, making her shiver slightly, and swallow. His lips stayed on her neck for a couple of seconds before Thrax moved his head back up. Annabelle straightened her neck, and chuckled lightly at Thrax, "Vampire kiss. I get it now."

He smiled slightly as well. The two remained still, pressed against each other at the stomach, and with Thrax's hand supporting Annabelle's upper back. All became silent as dark-blue eyes stared into green and golden-yellow eyes. Everything around them seemed to disappear, as though they were the only beings in the world.

They never really knew who made the first move. But what they did know was that one second, they were just staring at each other in silence; the next, Annabelle was holding Thrax's head in her hands, his free hand was cupping her cheek, and they were kissing. Everything else was still silent and invisible. Nothing else mattered.

But as soon as their lips separated, and their eyes cracked open, reality came crashing back. Their eyes widened in realization to what happened, and they stepped back from each other. "Uh...er...I'm sorry," Annabelle stammered, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"It...uh...I think it was my fault," Thrax said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"No, it was mine."

"Well, it was an accident anyway."

"Yeah." They stood in awkward silence before Thrax spoke up, "Well, I guess I better be gettin' home."

"All right. See ya later, then?" When he nodded, Annabelle unlocked her apartment door, stepped in, and shut the door. Thrax stared at the door for several seconds before he sighed bitterly, brushed his dreadlocks back, and walked in the direction of the stairs. He needed time to think about what happened, and taking the stairs seemed like a good idea at the moment.

In her apartment, Annabelle was leaning back against her door. What had just happened flashed over and over in her mind, until it nearly drove her crazy. She grabbed her head, growling, and slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor.

She felt horrible. She was angry at herself. She didn't blame Thrax, though he was the one who technically started the mess, showing her that "vampire kiss." But he had obviously been surprised by the kiss as well, and was the one who said it was an accident. But she still felt awful, feeling like she had betrayed Jason, despite him trying to control her.

She released her head, and leaned back against the door, sighing. Remembering how Jason had been trying to control her, she found herself comparing Jason to Thrax. One the one hand, Jason was a red blood cell, somewhat like her, and he had had a crush on her ever since high school. Plus, he was good-looking, though Annabelle tried not to judge people by appearances. But the biggest turnoff was him trying to control her, basically telling her what friends to have, and what friends not to have. She didn't mind if he was a little protective of her against suspicious-looking goons, but this was too much; even against harmless characters.

On the other hand, she had known Thrax and his friends for three months. He was a Red Death virus, which was rare. But he was also a Red Death virus-turned-vaccine, which was even rarer. He flirted with her, but she only assumed it was Thrax being Thrax, despite her friends saying he liked her. The only bad thing was when he blew up about her being part-virus, but upon hearing his story, she understood why, and the situation had been resolved. Plus, he treated her fairly, and didn't try to control whom she was friends with. And she didn't deny that he wasn't attractive as well. And he was a good kisser.

Annabelle smacked herself in the forehead. "Don't think _that_ way, Annabelle! You're dating Jason, not Thrax." But a dark shred of doubt began growing in her mind, wondering if Jason was really the right person to be with. Especially when her best friend seemed a better match.

Yes, she thought of Thrax as one of her best friends, along with Ozzy and Drix. But she felt closer to Thrax out of the three. She didn't really know why. Maybe it was because they were both viruses—though Annabelle herself was only half-virus—and they both had dead parents, and rough pasts, though Annabelle felt Thrax had it worse. But they seemed to have good chemistry as well. They could make each other laugh, and could find comfort in each other.

Annabelle sighed heavily, letting her head drop into her hands. All of this thinking of whom would be better to be with was giving her a headache.

Back at the Private Eye Apartment, Thrax was in a similar situation, though he certainly wasn't trying to figure out who was a better partner than the other. But he was wondering if Annabelle was happy with Jason.

It always disturbed him when she said Jason was trying to control what friends she could have. He had seen it with his own eyes, but never spoke up about it. He knew Jason didn't like him, but he didn't really care. He had a long list of people who didn't like him, and he couldn't care less if the list lengthened or shortened. But he didn't think it was fair that Annabelle wasn't allowed to be friends with him. He may not be the most well-liked person in Hector, but he never really gave anyone a reason to hate him with a passion, aside from being a virus, and being a killer in the past. He was even a member of the Immunity. Besides, Annabelle was a big girl, and could take care of herself. And she could certainly tell if it was a good idea to be friends with someone or not.

Thrax admitted that he liked Annabelle, maybe even more than a friend. He blinked in surprise as he thought about this. He had been lying back on the couch that served as his bed, and was reading a book, trying to chase away the incident that had happened at Annabelle's apartment building, and basically clear his mind. But it seemed to be doing the opposite. _What was that I thought? I liked Annie more than a friend?_ It hadn't really popped up in the past. If it had, he brushed it aside without a thought. But this past incident made him seriously think about it.

To be honest, he didn't regret kissing Annabelle. His mind hadn't reminded him that she was already dating someone until he realized what had happened. He didn't blame Annabelle for the incident, though he felt they were both at fault for it. Someone could blame "the moment" for such incident. But if that were the case, Thrax would be the one to be blamed, since he started it with that vampire kiss.

Thrax let his head fall back on the arm of the couch, sighing heavily. On the one hand, he was in love with Annabelle. Yes, he admitted he was in love with her. He hadn't ever really been in love with anyone. Riley, his, "crazy ex-girlfriend," had been either a childhood crush, or just plain lust. But he was never really in love with her. But Annabelle, he was in love with her. She was strong, witty, funny, and independent, and she definitely took no crap from anyone. He was reminded a little of himself.

But on the other hand, she was already dating someone; a jerk, but another person regardless. And a fellow former high school student, to boot. And he wondered if she would rather be with a cell instead of a virus, as she was antagonistic against her father, him being a virus.

Before he could ponder any more into the subject, the door to the apartment opened. Almira ran in, wagging her tail. Behind her, Ozzy and Drix stepped in as well. "Wassup, Red?" Ozzy asked.

"Nothin' much," Thrax answered, closing his book and placing it on the couch. He looked down at Almira, who was sitting by the couch. "Hey, Mira," He grinned, sitting up and scratching her side. "How were you at your special job?"

"We didn't find anything," Drix sighed. "It wasn't Almira's fault. Nothing came up at all."

"Either that guy who told us where the guy was lied, or the guy moved." Ozzy added.

"We'll find something good, Ozzy," Drix said enthusiastically. "But we'll have to be cautious."

"Why? It's just a guy tryin' to mind-control animals." Thrax frowned.

"In the wrong hands, animals can be dangerous," Drix pointed out. "If used correctly, they can take down a body. I'll admit it sounds silly, but anyone can do it. Especially with the right animals."

Thrax pursed his lips slightly in thought. Drix had a point. It seemed silly, and from a movie. But animals could be used for evil purposes in the wrong hands. He laid a hand on Almira's shoulder, scratching her fur slightly. He hoped his baby girl wouldn't get hurt, or worse, captured by this goon.

* * *

**A/N This might be my favorite chapter so far. Sorry if I offended any Twilight fans with Thrax and Annabelle making fun of it. What Thrax says about them being "sparkly fairies" in Twilight is what I think. Vampires are supposed to be scary blood suckers! Not...what Stephanie Meyer portrays them as! And him saying how Bella was boring, and the girl playing her is a horrible actress, is what I've seen people say about them.**

**Thrax smacking Annabelle on the butt, her calling him a jackass, and his comment after is kinda recycled from my WWIII story I never finished. And it was a perfect time to put it in here XD**

**My most favorite part of the chapter is the "vampire kiss," and what follows after.**

**Ooh, looks like we're getting another plot point :3**


	15. Chapter 15

**********************************************************A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**********************************************************Alu In Chains: THEY BOTH BAD! XD**

**********************************************************I don't care either :3 Forbidden romances, the best kind :D**

**********************************************************I'm glad you like the foreshadowing :) It won't come up right away, but when it does, I hope I make it good and interesting.**

**********************************************************Devilgirl123: I think everyone either couldn't believe it, or predicted it. Ve shall see (horrible Transylvanian accent)**

**Rowena BaronErikandSnapelover: While that would be interesting, he isn't the guy the Frank Quadric are looking for; he's just a douche. But this chapter should be interesting on what happens ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Annabelle stayed up late, thinking things over between her and Jason. The next morning, while eating breakfast, she decided, once and for all, that Jason wasn't the right person for her. She had given him a chance to change, and he didn't. In fact, he worsened by flat out telling her he didn't want her seeing her male friends.

She didn't have to work that day, and she knew Jason didn't either, so it was the perfect opportunity to end the relationship. She kept her uncle's warning, to be careful, in mind.

Changing into her street clothes, Annabelle walked out of her apartment, locked her door, and walked down and out to her car; the same car Thrax had made for her over two months ago.

She never told Jason where she got it, only saying it was from a friend. He had put two and two together evidently, as a sour look grew on his face after Annabelle told him where she got her car. Luckily, he never said she should get a different car. And she was glad. She loved her car.

Annabelle drove out onto the arteries to Jason's home in the neck. She parked in front of his small house. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out, and walked to his door. Swallowing nervously, she knocked on the door. Now she understood why people said breakups were hard to do.

The door opened, revealing Jason inside, dressed in his street clothes as well. "Oh, Annabelle," He greeted happily, albeit surprised. "Hello."

"Hi, Jason," Annabelle smiled, though she felt it was forced. "May I come in?"

"Certainly." He nodded, stepping back. "What brings you here?"

"I just...actually, we need to talk." She said, walking in.

"All right," He nodded, not sensing that this would mean trouble. "Actually, I was gonna come see _you_ today."

This made Annabelle raise an eyebrow. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Jason reached in his jeans pocket and pulled something small out. "Annabelle, I've been in love with you ever since high school. Even though we never really hung out in the past, I think for the past couple of months, we really clicked." He bent on one knee and held out what he was holding.

Annabelle's eyes widened in shock, and a bit of dismay. In Jason's fingers was a ring with a tiny red gem. "Will you marry me?"

This took the words Annabelle wanted to say, and threw them out the window, so to speak. She remained silent until asking, "Isn't this a little soon? I mean, we've only been dating for, what, a month or two? A few weeks, at most?"

"I know, but I feel a strong connection. I feel we're really meant to be."

Annabelle groaned inwardly. She never thought this would happen. She always imagined getting married when she was a little girl, but she was only twenty-six, having had her birthday two weeks prior. She wasn't ready to get married at twenty-six. And there was also the fact that she came wanting to break up with Jason.

That fact made her finally speak. "Jason, I'm sorry, but I can't. In fact, I came here originally to tell you that this isn't working out."

Jason's arm dropped slowly as a look of disbelief appeared on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry. You're a great guy and all, but…I don't think we're meant to be together. You just…"

"What is it? Whatever it is, I'll change!"

"I gave you a chance! But you never took it! You never changed; you worsened!"

"Is this about me not wanting you to be with any guys? Because I—"

"No, I don't wanna hear any excuses." Annabelle interrupted, scowling darkly. "You can't control me. You can't tell me what to do." She jabbed him in the chest with a finger at each sentence. "And you definitely can't control what friends I have. Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax are my best friends, and I can see them whenever I can."

"Martha and Ursula are your best friends." Jason retorted, sounding like Annabelle should only have female best friends.

Annabelle smacked him across the face. "What did I just say? I can have any friends I want! I'm sorry, but I'm not marrying you. I'm not your girlfriend anymore. And because of your attitude, I never wanna see you again! Goodbye!" She turned on her heel and stomped towards the door.

* * *

Ozzy, Drix, Thrax, and Almira were all at home. Ozzy was reclined on the couch, reading a newspaper. Drix was sitting at the desk, reading a book. Almira was chewing on one of her toys on the floor, with Dander dozing next to her. Thrax was washing his hands after using the bathroom.

Frantic knocking on the door made everyone in the main room jump. Drix stood up from the desk, and opened the door. "Annabelle!" He exclaimed in surprise.

Almira and Dander's heads popped up, and Ozzy looked towards the door. Thrax's head appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.

Annabelle hurried in, looking frightened. She was holding her upper arms, as if they were in pain. Tear stains were on her cheeks, which had visible dark-red handprints on them.

"Annabelle!"

"Annie!" Ozzy jumped up, dropping the newspaper on the floor, and Thrax hurried into the main room. Almira sat up, eyes wide. Dander cocked his head, confused.

Annabelle sat in an arm chair, still looking nervous. "What happened?" Thrax asked.

"Jason! Jason happened!" She snapped shakily.

A murderous look appeared on Thrax's face. "I knew that jerk was trouble!" He growled.

"Control your flames, big guy," Ozzy said. Annabelle noticed Thrax's claw fading from a very light-orange to its dark-red color. "Drix, you got that fancy bruise cream?"

"I'll get it." He nodded, heading for the bathroom.

"What exactly happened, Anna?" Ozzy asked.

"Well, lately I had been thinking Jason might not be the right guy for me." Her eyes glanced at Thrax, though no one seemed to notice. "I went to his house to break up. When I got there, he proposed to me."

Ozzy and Thrax's eyes widened. "Proposed?" The virus asked dumbly. "Y'mean like marriage?"

"Yes."

"I ain't no datin' expert, but ain't a couple months of datin' a bit too short to decide on marryin' someone?" Ozzy asked.

"I thought so too. I declined his proposal, and told him we were through."

"What did he say to that?" Drix asked, coming into the living room. Thrax held out his open palm, to which the cold pill deposited a small container of cream. Thrax unscrewed the cap, dug out some cream, and began rubbing it on Annabelle's face as gently as he could.

"He said he could change. I told him I gave him a chance, and he never took it. He correctly assumed it was him trying to control whom I had as friends."

"You got any other marks?" Thrax asked. Behind him, Drix changed his cannon hand into a camera, and snapped pictures of the hand marks on Annabelle's face.

"Yes." She rolled up her sleeves to reveal bruises beginning to show up on both of her upper arms. They looked like they were made by hands. As Drix took pictures of the bruises, and Thrax rubbed in the cream, Annabelle continued, "I turned to leave, and Jason grabbed my arms and slammed me against the wall. He was yelling at me, demanding to know if I was cheating on him. I told him I wasn't, but he slapped me across the face, and pressed on. He then asked, quote-unquote, 'Is it your virus friend? Is it _him_ you're seeing behind my back?' I told him I wasn't cheating on him, but he slapped me again. Finally, I kneed him in the groin. When he bent down, I pushed him back as hard as I could, and ran out the door to my car. I'm glad it's fast. This is the first place I came to because I knew you were all Immunity officers, and would help me."

"Of course, Annabelle," Drix said kindly, laying his hand on her shoulder, ignoring her slight flinch. "That's why I was taking the pictures; to use as evidence against him."

Ozzy had been writing notes on what Annabelle had told them. He then asked Drix, "Why would a cold pill need a built-in camera?"

Before Drix could answer, there was a pounding on the door. Everyone stood up, and Annabelle shot behind Thrax. Before anyone could move, the door was kicked open. It was Jason, and he was angry. "Where is she?" He snapped angrily. "I know she came here. Where is she?" He then spotted Annabelle behind Thrax. "I knew it!" He rushed forward to grab Annabelle.

"Hold on," Drix scowled as he and Ozzy held Jason back. "What is this about, kicking the door in?"

"She's been seeing that red freak behind my back!" Jason snapped. "And I'll bet she was seeing you two clowns too!"

"All right, first of all, please refrain from the name-callin'?" Ozzy asked rhetorically. "Second of all, what right have you got for hittin' a woman, an' leavin' marks on her?"

"She's the one disobeying my orders! She's the one being with people she's not supposed to be with!"

"This is why I broke up with you!" Annabelle snapped, stepping forward. Thrax held her back by her arms, though he glared at Jason over her head. "You're so controlling, it's not even funny! This is the 21st century! This is a free city! I have the right to have any kinds of friends I want! _You_ have no consent over it."

"Listen to me, you little bitch—" He began to come forward.

Suddenly, what no one expected was for Almira to jump up, come between the red blood cells, and bark at Jason. She bared her teeth, growling viciously, causing Jason to back away, exclaiming in fear. "Man, if Almira's defendin' someone she recently didn't like, she _must_ hate you," Ozzy remarked. "I never seen her do that."

Annabelle smiled weakly. "Thanks, Mira." She said, petting the hyena. Almira paid no attention, and continued to show her teeth at Jason.

"C-call off the hound!" Jason said, eyeing her sharp teeth.

"She's just doin' her job." Thrax countered.

"Jason Radcliffe, we're placing you under arrest for domestic violence against Annabelle Waters, breaking and entering, and disorderly conduct against us." Drix said in an official tone as Ozzy grabbed a pair of handcuffs off of the desk.

"You have the right to remain silent," Ozzy added, handcuffing the flabbergasted red blood cell. "Anything you do or say can an' may be used against you."

Jason looked pleadingly at Annabelle, but she turned her nose up at him. "Hold on a minute, fellas." Thrax said, holding up a hand.

Ozzy and Drix paused, and Jason glared up at the virus. Thrax punched Jason across the face as hard as he could, nearly sending him to the ground, had Drix not grabbed his arms. "Thrax, was that necessary?" Drix asked in exasperation.

"I think so." He answered bluntly.

"Yeah, I agree," Ozzy nodded as he and Drix led Jason out the door. "He _did_ hurt Annabelle. That reminds me," He glanced at Thrax and Annabelle. "You might wanna come along, as Chief will need some physical evidence to get Jason arrested for domestic violence."

"We'll be down in a minute." Thrax nodded.

As Ozzy and Drix left with Jason, Thrax looked at Annabelle, who still looked shaken. "You okay, baby?" He asked.

"Kinda. I'll be better if he gets locked up, or at least stays far away from me." She confessed.

"We'll try our best. You wanna go ahead an' go? Mira an' I'll come with you."

"Okay." She nodded, biting her lip slightly. She was hugging herself, which seemed to be a habit that occurred when she was scared. Thrax laid his hands on her shoulders and gently led her to and out the door. Almira followed behind, pausing to push Dander back into the apartment with her hind foot before Thrax shut the door and locked it with his claw, making Annabelle chuckle slightly—which Thrax considered an accomplishment, given the current situation—and the three of them walked down to the bottom floor. Ozzy and Drix had Jason in their car already, and were sitting in it as well. Thrax gestured his head at his own car, and they nodded understandingly.

Annabelle sat in the passenger side of Thrax's car, he sat in the driver's seat, and Almira settled down in the back. "We'll have to put her harness on when we get there." Thrax said.

Annabelle glanced back, noticing the harness on the seat in the back. She nodded as Thrax started his car, and followed after Ozzy's convertible to the HPD office.

The whole drive was silent.

* * *

**A/N Dun-dun-duuun! So many moments that sentence would describe! The proposal! Annie getting hurt! Jason's arrest!**

**While Jason is trying to control Annabelle, he's still in love with her. But it's just that high school crush that he refuses to let go. And he knows that she's good friends with Thrax, which is why he's accusing her of seeing him behind Jason's back. Plus, he's the kind of guy that if you get him mad enough, he'l explode, as seen here.**

**I really researched on what you can be arrested for, and what you can't be. But I'm not 100% sure, so I could be wrong. But for sure he broke into the apartment without permission, and insulted three Immunity cops, which is a crime. I just love the scene where Drix and Ozzy are arresting Jason; I can totally imagine the scene in their voices (not Jason, I can't remember who I "assigned" as his voice actor) And Thrax punching him is the frosting on the cake. And I say frosting because I love frosting :3**

**I also love where Jason goes to grab Annabelle, and Almira jumps in, all snarly and in protecting-mode. Guess she's finally warming up to Annabelle :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Rowena BaronErikandSnapelover: Thanks :D  
**

**Devilgirl123: I think everyone liked that part XD The guy deserved it.**

**blondebeachbarbz: Thanks :) I think everyone wants Thrax and Annabelle together.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

As usual, Chief Gluteus was at the HPD, sifting through papers, mostly about the germ making mind-control drugs for animals. He was a middle-aged, grizzled muscle cell with a mustache, and often wore a brown coat. He groaned slightly when he saw Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax come in. "What is it now, you thr—" He paused when he saw Jason in handcuffs, and Annabelle huddling close to Thrax and Almira. "What's this all about?"

"This is Jason Radcliffe," Drix said. "He was arrested for domestic violence against Ms. Annabelle Waters, breaking and entering our apartment, and disorderly conduct against Ozzy, Thrax, and myself."

"This is Annabelle Waters." Thrax added, patting her shoulder. "She's friends with Martha Cyte."

"Ah, yes, I know her." Chief nodded. "Might as well call her into my office."

"Don't mind Chief Gluteus, Annie," Thrax whispered to her as they entered his office. "He's always this grumpy."

"I heard that, Muerja," The muscle cell said. "Now then, Ms. Waters, was it? Ms. Waters, could you tell me your history with Mr. Radcliffe?"

Annabelle proceeded to tell Chief how Jason had been in the same high school as she had been, but despite never officially meeting, he apparently had a crush on her. They had dated for about two months before she ended it. "He was trying to control what friends I could have or couldn't have. He had it in his head that I should only have female friends, and no male friends, save for family, and Jason himself. I came to his house today to break up with him. He tried to propose to me, but I refused, and said we shouldn't be dating anymore. I told him it was because he was trying to control me, and that I didn't appreciate it."

"I just didn't want you with any other guys!" Jason snapped, trying to pull away from Ozzy and Drix, but they kept a strong grip on his arms.

"That was no reason for you to hurt her!" Thrax yelled back.

"Shut up, both of you!" Chief shouted. "Could you please continue, Ms. Waters?"

She nodded, and told him the same story she told the Frank Quadric, about Jason accusing her of cheating on him, and slapping her in the face, and bruising her arms. She showed him the marks, and Drix handed Chief the newly-printed pictures of said marks.

Then, Martha stepped into the office. She glared at Jason as soon as she saw him in handcuffs, having gotten the message of his arrest, and of what were the charges. "You okay, Annabelle?" She asked her best friend.

"A little shaken, but fine." She nodded.

"Ms. Cyte, Ms. Waters here is accusing Radcliffe of trying to control what friends she can have. Do you agree?" Chief's grandfather had been a judge of court, and taught him everything, including what questions to ask. He was so knowledgeable, if he wanted to, he could quit being Chief Gluteus, and become Judge Gluteus.

"Yes, I can, Chief," Martha nodded feverishly. "Annabelle told me about it, and I witnessed some of it. In fact, Jason called me once, asking me if I could tell Ozzy, Drix, and Thrax to stay away from her."

"What?" Annabelle snapped, glaring at Jason for the first time they had been at the HPD.

"Of course, I hung right up." Martha continued, crossing her arms. "I'm not gonna do that! Annabelle can take care of herself. Besides, she's the kind of girl who ain't gonna let any guy tell her what to do. And she doesn't need to stay away from them, or protection from them, or whatever. They're all great guys."

"Radcliffe seems more worried about Muerja." Chief pointed out.

"Annabelle, another friend of ours, Maria, and I figured Jason didn't like Thrax because he was a virus, or he was intimidated by him in another way. Like he thought Thrax would try and steal Annabelle away. Ozzy, Drix, Maria, and I know he wouldn't do that, despite him maybe liking Annabelle."

"I knew it!" Jason yelled.

"Shut the hell up, Four-Eyes," Thrax snarled. "This ain't none of your business."

"Thanks, Red. Anyway, all-in-all, in my eyes, Jason's an overprotective, controlling jerk. Ask anyone, and they'll probably agree."

The Frank Quadric, and Annabelle all nodded. "As you all know, Radcliffe was charged with the following: domestic violence against Annabelle Waters, breaking and entering the apartment of Jones, Koldriliff, and Muerja, and disorderly conduct against Jones, Koldriliff, and Muerja." Chief said, lacing his fingers on his desk. "Do you know what disorderly conduct means?"

"No." Jason confessed.

"One meaning is you've insulted or struck an officer. What sort of disorderly conduct did he do, Jones?"

"He called Thrax a 'red freak,' and Drix and I 'clowns'."

"Is this true?" When Jason didn't say anything, Chief pressed further, "Answer the question, Radcliffe! Did you, or did you not do what Jones says you did?"

"…I did, sir." He finally grumbled.

"I'm sure you know what breaking and entering means, do you? Good. What happened in that field, Koldriliff?"

"He pounded on our door, and then kicked the door open, entering the apartment without permission." Drix explained.

"Did you do that? And answer the question."

"…I did."

"And finally, we have domestic violence. This means you hit someone, leaving marks. In this case, it's Ms. Waters."

"You can't prove I hit her." Jason insisted. "It's her word against mine. And Muerja coulda easily made those marks on her."

"How 'bout you say that to my face?" Thrax shouted, but was pushed back by Drix.

"Annabelle doesn't lie, and Thrax would never lay his hand Annabelle." Martha pointed out. "Besides, there's more than one way to determine who hit her than just pictures. She still has the marks, so we can compare hand sizes." She took Thrax's wrist, and held his hand up, making him spread his fingers. She held his hand near the handprint on Annabelle's face. "Thrax has claws, so if he hit her, Annabelle would have had scratch marks as well. Besides, his hands are too big." She let his hand go and grabbed one of Jason's still-handcuffed wrists, despite him struggling. "However, your hands are," She held up his hand next to Annabelle's face. "A perfect match."

"What about Jones?" He asked quickly, pulling his hand away.

"Dang, you're desperate, ain'tcha?" Ozzy remarked. He held up his hand near Annabelle's face. "Nope, still too big."

"The evidence is against you, Radcliffe." Chief said. "You can say you didn't do it, but you've already been proven guilty of two out of three accused crimes. So, who's going to believe you when you say you didn't?" His frown deepened when a somewhat guilty look appeared on Jason's face. "I thought so. We're gonna hold you in prison until a court decides what to do. Or we can go the easy way, and have you stay in jail for six years."

"What?" Jason exclaimed.

"That's the least amount of time you can stay for these crimes. Whether you take the deal of staying in jail due to court or not, it will be the same length of time. My grandfather was a judge, and taught me the appropriate lengths of jail time per crime committed. It's your choice, Radcliffe."

Jason glanced at Annabelle, but she turned away again. Ozzy, Drix and Martha all glared at him, and he refused to look at Thrax, though the virus cracked his knuckles threateningly. Finally, the red blood cell sighed, "Without court."

"All right." Chief nodded. "I'll take you there myself. We'll make sure he won't harm you again, Ms. Waters."

"Thank you, sir." She said as the chief took the handcuffed red blood cell. "I was under the impression you didn't like Ozzy, Drix, or Thrax."

"I'm not the fondest of them, but I suppose after a while, they kinda grew on me."

"Seriously?" Ozzy remarked in a whisper. Drix and Thrax both elbowed him in the gut.

"Besides, when it comes down to it, they're Immunity officers, and Radcliffe here has committed crimes. So, I can't be so prejudiced."

"You could learn somethin' like that, Thrax." Ozzy muttered to Thrax. The virus smacked him upside the head.

As Chief took Jason to the jail area, Ozzy said, "Uh, Annabelle? You still seem kinda shaken up, so how 'bout one of us take you to your apartment, and maybe stay the night?"

"Normally, I wouldn't like that." Annabelle remarked. "But at the moment, I think that might not be a bad idea."

"I'll do it." Thrax spoke up instantly. "I'll take Almira too."

"That was fast." Ozzy grinned. "Maybe Martha had a point about you likin' Annabelle." Upon Thrax's glare, Ozzy smacked himself upside the head, making the virus smirk.

Before anyone else said anything, Chief came back with a grim look on his face. "Radcliffe said something very interesting. He told me Ms. Waters is part-virus."

Annabelle's face paled. "Wh-what makes him say that?" She asked nervously.

"He told me he saw you washing your hands, and not wearing your gloves. He said you had black claws. Is this true? And more importantly, are you part-virus?"

Annabelle sighed heavily, and slowly nodded, "Yes, my father was a virus. He was destroyed by the Immunity before I was born."

"And just what type of virus was he?"

"…Ebola." She squeaked out. Thrax laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort, and Almira sat at her feet, leaning on her leg.

Chief's stern expression didn't leave, but it didn't intensify either. He finally asked, "And have you had any Ebola powers? Say, absorbing moisture?"

"No, sir. The only things different about me are my skin, eyes, and claws."

"I see. But, to be sure, I'd like to run a few tests on you. I'd need a sample of your protoplasm to determine if you are dangerous to Hector or not."

"She isn't, Chief!" Martha cried. "I've known her since grade school, and she would never deliberately hurt anyone!"

"What's all the screaming about?" Maria walked in, raising an eyebrow at the crowd of Immunity officers, plus Annabelle. "What's going on?"

Chief explained about Jason being arrested, and the discovery of Annabelle's viral heritage. The half-blood cell cringed at the latter.

Maria's eyebrows shot up. "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I. Apparently, she's kept it secret for quite a while." Chief grunted. "We're gonna extract some of her protoplasm and do some tests."

"How long will that take?" Annabelle asked.

"The tests may take a few hours. Jones and his friends can take you to lunch."

"Why to I have to be escorted?"

"Until we find out if you're dangerous to Hector or not, I'm not leaving you by yourself. And I don't care if you've known her since grade school, Cyte. I never knew her, save for today. Besides, she may have Ebola powers, but hasn't realized it."

There were no more arguments after that. Some of Annabelle's protoplasm was extracted for testing, and she was taken in another room for questions for the file on her. In another room, the Frank Quadric, plus Maria, were watching through a one-sided window. "Full name?" A female brain cell with large glasses and a clipboard asked Annabelle.

"Annabelle Rosalyn Waters."

"Age?"

"Twenty-six. My birthday was two weeks prior."

"Mother's name and race?"

"Rosalyn Waters. Red blood cell."

"Father's name and race?"

"Mom never told me his name. All I knew was that he was an Ebola virus."

"So, you guys knew she was part-Ebola?" Maria asked.

"Yep, she told Ursula and me after we became friends in grade school." Martha nodded.

"She told Drix, Thrax, and me I less than three months ago." Ozzy added.

"Bet Thrax didn't take it too well." Maria remarked, knowing about the virus's secret past.

"No, I did not." He scoffed. "We didn't speak for half a month. I finally got my head out of my ass an' apologized."

"After some talkin'-to." Ozzy muttered. He cried out in pain when Thrax stomped his heel hard on the white blood cell's foot. "Geez, dude!" He groaned, rubbing his sore foot.

"Anyway, I apologized, an' had to let her in on 'the secret'." Thrax continued, ignoring Martha's murderous glare. "She understood."

After the questions were filled out, the Frank Quadric took the girls out to lunch. Martha, Maria, and Ozzy talked over what they heard about the germ making the mind-control animal drugs. Some of the talk was about whether to talk to someone called "the Mole" or not, considering his strange attitude. Drix, and sometimes Thrax, would put their two cents in on both subjects. Annabelle hardly spoke.

About an hour later, they went back to the HPD for several more hours. Maria and Martha left, so it was the Frank Quadric left to hear of Annabelle's fate; Ozzy and Drix had promised their girlfriends they would call and tell them the news.

Finally, late in the afternoon, Annabelle came out into the room the guys were waiting in. Drix was hovering and reading a newspaper, Ozzy was reclined back in a chair, propping his feet on a nearby trashcan, Almira was sitting by Thrax, scratching at the collar of her harness every now and then, and the virus had his arms crossed, and his chin down on his chest, and was leaning back against the wall. He was wearing black sunglasses, so it was hard to tell if he had dozed off or not. He evidently had, as Ozzy nudged him with his elbow, and his head popped up with a grunt. He pushed his sunglasses up over his eyebrows and in front of his hairline. "So, what's the verdict?" He asked Annabelle, standing up straight and stretching his arms back.

She had a grave look on her face. "I've got six months to live."

"What?" Thrax exclaimed, eyes nearly popping out of his head. Ozzy, Drix, and Almira had similar expressions.

A grin spread on Annabelle's face. "Gotcha!" She laughed. "You should have seen your faces!"

"Yeah, yeah, real funny," Ozzy rolled his eyes. "Seriously!"

Calming down, Annabelle said, "They didn't find anything life-threatening towards Hector. I don't have Ebola powers; in fact, the only indications of me being half-Ebola are my skin, eyes, and claws."

"Aw'right!" Ozzy grinned, high-fiving her. "I knew you were safe!"

"I'm glad it was finalized." Drix added. "I'd have hated to see you expelled, had you been dangerous."

Thrax was relieved for the same reasons, but didn't say so. "You still want me to stay overnight at yer place, Annie?" He asked.

She had evidently forgotten about it. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll even drive you there."

"You're gonna have to." She smirked. "You were the one who drove me here."

"Oh, right." He grinned, making her laugh. The events that lead to them coming to the HPD were behind them.

* * *

**A/N The next few days may be busy. For the past several months, we've had a new house next to ours. For the past several days, we've been moving furniture in (slowly) and even have been sleeping in the new house for the past few days. But the WiFi is still at the old house. And when it gets switched, we'll probably be without WiFi for a few days. I'm not sure when that will be, but I imagine it will be soon.**

**I'm not sure why I decided Chief Gluteus had a court judge as a relative, from which he learned some stuff. But maybe because I don't really want to write a court scene for this story. Also, I may be off on Jason's jail time (I'm kind of a perfectionist, and tend to put more logic in my stories than what needs to be) but I don't think anyone cares because he's very unpopular.**

**I thought I was done when Ozzy smacked himself upside the head, but then I remembered something I had wanted to put in: the Immunity finding out about Annabelle's secret. BTW, someone reviewed on one of my OJ stories, saying a cell's "blood" is protoplasm, not plasma. I'm not the best at chemistry, so I'm gonna take their word for it.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Devilgirl123: Probably nothing exciting. But there's a reason filler chapters were invented :3**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Thrax drove Annabelle to the grocery store so she could pick up some groceries to cook for dinner, and back to her apartment. Almira stretched her legs and yawned, prompting Thrax to laugh, "You gettin' lazy on me, baby girl? Back in the day, you weren't this lazy."

"She isn't on the run constantly, so she can rest as much as she wants." Annabelle remarked, putting away the groceries, save for the ones for dinner, which she decided was ravioli, her favorite dinner. "That reminds me. Tomorrow, I'm gonna get some stuff for adopting a dog."

"You just get yer ex-boyfriend arrested for hurtin' you, an' the first thing that comes to mind is ya want a dog?" Thrax smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabelle chuckled, "Well, it's for two reasons: one, for companionship, as it gets kinda lonely here; two, for protection, since Mira's such a good guard dog."

"Yeah, she is." Thrax nodded in agreement. "So, yer gonna get a big dog?"

"Mm, maybe medium-sized. I checked, and this apartment will only allow medium-sized dogs, about Almira's size. There's an animal shelter on the right hand, so that's a good place to start."

She made enough for two people, so Thrax was able to have some dinner as well. Annabelle even placed a little bit of ravioli on a paper plate for Almira. While they were washing the dishes, the phone rang. Thrax gestured for Annabelle to get it. She wiped her hands dry on a towel, and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Annabelle Waters! Why did you not tell us?!" Her aunt screamed. "Why did you not tell us you were being abused by that man?!"

She held the phone away, wincing at her aunt's loud voice. Thrax chuckled lightly, hearing her aunt from the phone. Annabelle scowled at him, and held the phone back to her ear. "Evelyn, it was only today that it happened."

"How'd yer aunt an' uncle find out?" Thrax asked, drying off his hands with a towel.

Annabelle held her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and answered the virus, "I had to give my childhood guardian names and number at the HPD." She returned to the phone. "I went over to Jason's to break up with him, and he proposed to me. But I refused."

"What? You refused? Annabelle, how could you? You'll never get a chance at marriage."

"What? How could you say that?" Annabelle exclaimed, feeling very hurt, despite this statement not being very new. "There are probably other guys who'll like me. Besides, I'm not ready to think about marriage."

"Peter and I were married when we were your age."

"I don't care. I'm not you, I'm my own person."

Almira sat at Annabelle's feet and laid her head on her leg. Annabelle petted the hyena as she listened to a background conversation on the phone. "Hang on, Annabelle, your uncle wants to talk to you." Evelyn said, sounding a little exasperated.

"Okay, put him on." Annabelle said. She turned to Thrax again. "My uncle's much easier to talk to."

He nodded, remembering Annabelle had said her uncle was much less judgmental and critical than her aunt.

"Hello?" Her uncle said.

"Hi, Uncle Pete," Annabelle greeted. "I'm guessing the HPD told you what happened?"

"They sure did, Bunny-Rabbit. But only that you were hurt, and Jason was arrested for domestic violence, breaking and entering, and disorderly conduct against some officers. What all happened?"

"I had been thinking, and decided that Jason wasn't the right guy for me." She sat on the couch, still talking. Thrax sat down next to her, and Almira lay on the floor at their feet. "I went over to his house today to break up. When I got there, he proposed to me. I declined, both because I was planning to break up with him in the first place, and because I felt two months of dating was kind of short to decide on marrying someone."

"Yeah, I agree. How'd he take it?"

"You were right; some people don't take break-ups easily. He grabbed my arms and shoved me against the wall, and smacked me in the face. I managed to get away though."

"Why was he doing that?" She could sense the hint of anger towards Jason.

"He was angry, I suppose. And he was accusing me of cheating on him, and with Thrax."

"He's that virus fellow, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is. I actually went to his home. Luckily, he, Ozzy, and Drix were there. I told them what happened. Then, Jason came bursting in, and further accused me of cheating on him. He also called Thrax a 'red freak,' and Ozzy and Drix clowns."

"Ah, so _that_ was the disorderly conduct and breaking and entering. And I assume the domestic violence was against you?"

"Yep. Jason was arrested a few minutes after that. Thrax slugged him good across the face." She laughed at the memory, and Thrax smiled as well.

Peter was laughing too. "I guess that means I don't have to too. Was he convicted?"

"Yep. Six years, though the chief said he may be released a few years early if he has good behavior."

"Well, at least he's in prison. The HPD also said you had to do some tests regarding your heritage?"

"Yeah. Jason found out about my claws, and said I was a virus. I couldn't lie to the Immunity. But luckily, I'm not dangerous towards Hector."

"I'm glad too, dear. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Thrax is actually here with me, along with his hyena. Ozzy insisted on an officer staying overnight at my place, and Thrax volunteered right away."

"That was kind of him. May I speak with him?"

"Um, sure." She handed Thrax the phone. "He wants to talk with you." She explained.

"Uh-oh." Thrax joked. He held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Is this Thrax, the virus-turned-vaccine?" A slightly-gruff man asked.

"This is he."

"I haven't met you yet, son. But I just want you to know that I appreciate all you and your friends have done for my niece."

"Think nothin' of it. Me an' my friends are very good friends with Annie an' her friends. The one, Jones, is actually datin' Martha Cyte."

"I know Martha very well."

"Jones is like a male Martha." Thrax chuckled. "But anyway, I guess I," He glanced at where Annabelle was, but she was gone. He turned his head to see her head to the bedroom with a pair of shorts, and a tank-top in hand. She must be getting ready for bed. "I guess I'm kinda closer to her."

"Ah, you like her, don't you?" Peter teased.

"Yeah, I guess so. She, uh…she's about the only girl I ever really fell in love with."

"Well, she _must_ be special to you. She certainly _is_ a one-of-a-kind young woman. Do you think you two will spend life with each other?"

Thrax clicked his teeth in thought, crossing one leg over the other. "I honestly haven't really thought on that, especially given the situation that happened earlier today."

Peter made a noise of agreement. "How old are you, Thrax? If you don't mind me asking."

"Thirty-two. Too old for yer niece?"

Peter laughed, "I like you, son. You've got a good sense of humor. No, I don't think you're too old for her. After all, she's twenty-six. Well, it was nice talking to you. I don't wanna keep you, since it's getting late. I just wanna say goodnight to Annabelle before I hang up."

"Sure." Thrax nodded. He looked over his shoulder as Annabelle came out of the bathroom. "Yer uncle wants to tell ya goodnight." He handed her the phone and stood up, stretching his arms.

"Hello? You didn't intimidate him, did you?" Annabelle laughed. "So, you like him? That's great. Yeah, he's got a sense of humor. And he's quite the charmer too. Well, goodnight. Tell Evelyn I said goodnight. Love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone. "So, you impressed my father figure, eh? Quite an accomplishment, big guy." She smirked,

"I'm an accomplishin' man, baby." Thrax grinned. "I think I'm gonna hit the membrane too."

"All right. Goodnight." Annabelle said, turning to her bedroom, but paused and looked back. "Oh, and Thrax?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for today." She smiled shyly.

"No problem, Annie." He smiled back. "No problem." He turned away to arrange the pillows on the couch so it would be more comfortable. Annabelle had insisted he slept in a real bed, and she slept on the couch. But he said he slept on the couch on a regular basis anyway, and this would be no different.

Before he settled in for the night, Thrax snuck over to Annabelle's bedroom, and peeked in. It was dimly-lit by a dim, purple lava lamp on the nightstand. Annabelle was already in bad, dressed in the clothes he saw her take into her bedroom earlier. Her head was on the pillow, and her left arm was under the pillow. The comforter was over her, and ended under her shoulder. She looked very peaceful.

Thrax knelt by the bedside, and gently kissed her temple. "Goodnight, Annabelle." He whispered before standing and leaving the room.

* * *

**A/N Okay, I guess I was wrong about the WiFi needing several days to be transferred to the new house. It only took a few hours, I think. My reason for being late is the dreaded scandalum scriptor virus (Writer's Block Virus) But I think I'm getting over that...slowly...**

**As you guessed, there'll be a new character soon; that being Annabelle's dog. I already sculpted it out, so all I gotta do is put it on paper...text? I dunno XD**

**Later in the story, Thrax will officially meet Annabelle's caretakers; that means we'll meet them too :D**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N I don't own Osmosis Jones, or its characters; they are owned by Warner Bros. The rest, I DO own.**

**Devilgirl123: Thanks :D We'll find out in this one.**

**Slenderman606: Sorry I've been taking so long; kind of in a writer's block.**

**blondbeachbarbz: Thanks :) Glad you like this.**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

The next morning, Annabelle was jolted awake by her alarm clock, which sounded like a bird chirping loudly. Moaning, she smacked the "off" button with her fist, making the clock bounce and fall onto the floor. "Damn it." She muttered, sitting up and stretching her arms. She wasn't a morning person until she had her morning coffee to perk her up for the day.

She slowly got out of bed, scratched her head, which made her already-messy hair even more so, and walked out into the living room. She was startled to see Thrax and Almira sleeping on the couch before she remembered the day before.

Thrax had his hands behind his head, and had a blanket over his body. Almira was curled upon his legs, snoring softly, making her bangs flutter a little. The blanket on the virus was slightly pushed down, revealing that Thrax was at least only wearing his pants. Indeed, his coat and sweater were on the arm chair, and his boots and socks were near the same chair.

Annabelle smiled softly before leaving to gather some street clothes to change into after she had her shower. After that, she stepped back into the living room to fix some breakfast and coffee. This time, Thrax was up and dressed, save for his coat, which was still on the chair. "Mornin'." He greeted, brushing his dreadlocks back.

"Good morning." She answered. "Want some breakfast and coffee?"

"Sure." He nodded, bending backwards, producing a loud pop. He grunted, and sighed, "Hate sleepin' on couches."

"Then why do you do it at home?"

"'Cause Jones an' Drix have the only two beds. Drix is too big for the couch, an' Jones wouldn't sleep in the couch if ya paid him."

"Why are you all in one apartment in the first place?" Annabelle asked, preparing some waffles. "With three guys and a hyena, it'd seem kinda crowded."

"It is." He nodded, scratching Almira's head; the hyena was sitting by the small dining table. "We talked about movin' two of us into our own apartments in the same building. We just need to check 'em out. Luckily, money's not an issue, as we make quite a bit of dough in the Immunity."

"Sounds nice." Annabelle sighed. "My job pays decently—a heck of a lot better than my previous one—and I have some money saved up in the blood bank from Mom's will. But I'm still pretty careful with it."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with that."

After a breakfast of waffles and coffee, Thrax and Almira were ready to go home. "You want some advice on choosin' a pet?" Thrax asked, pulling on his trench coat.

"I don't think so. I've got a pretty good idea on what I want. Plus, I researched." She grinned. "I'll come look for you once I get my dog."

"Sounds like a plan. Hang on," He took a piece of paper from a pad of sticky notes that were on the counter, a pen from a cup of pens nearby, and wrote down some phone numbers. "If you can't find us, here's Jones's, Drix's, and my cell phone numbers."

"All right. Here's mine," She wrote down her cell phone number on another piece of paper. As she handed Thrax the paper, she giggled.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"We exchanged phone numbers."

Thrax's face expression was blank until he got the joke. He chuckled at that. "Yer a goof." He said, pushing Annabelle's head, making her laugh more.

* * *

Later that afternoon, after her work shift, Annabelle drove to the animal shelter on the right hand. She walked inside, and was greeted by a tall skin cell. "Hi, may I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a medium-sized dog. It needs to be gentle, yet is a good guard dog." Annabelle said.

The skin cell, whose nametag said his name was Jack, pursed his lips and tapped his jaw with a finger. "I think we have some dogs like that. Do you have a house residence, or live in an apartment?"

"I live in an apartment that only allows medium-sized dogs. Like, this high or so." She held her hand up to the height that Almira's head was.

"We can do that. Come on back." She followed him into a back room with kennels of dogs and cats. "We have at least two dogs that are gentle with other pets and kids, yet are great guard dogs. There's this dog," He gestured at an orange and red dog that looked like a German Shepherd-Labrador mix. "Named Ranger. And then we have this girl," He gestured at a purple Rottweiler-looking dog with dark purple paws and ears. "Is Christa. They're both nice dogs, yet will guard your house. They bark to alert you when someone knocks, and if they see you let the person in, and you don't feel threatened, they'll be relaxed." He grabbed two leashes, and brought Ranger out on one leash.

The dog approached Annabelle and sniffed at her feet. Annabelle held out her hand to let Ranger sniff her. Once he got a good sniff, she petted him, scratching his ears. He wagged his tail and sat down. Jack dropped the leash, and brought out Christa.

The purple dog bounced over, panting happily, looking like she was smiling. She too sniffed at Annabelle's legs and hand, but kept standing and smiling, wiggling slightly. Annabelle liked the happy nature of this dog. "I think I like Christa the best."

"A nice choice," Jack nodded putting Ranger back in his kennel. "I'll need you to sign some papers, and she'll be yours. We also sell necessary dog supplies: food, food bowls, toys, collars, and leashes."

"Sweet." Annabelle grinned. Jack helped her choose some food and food bowls, as well as some good toys. Annabelle chose an orange collar with red amebas all around it, as well as a matching orange leash. She signed the adoption papers, paid for Christa and the dog supplies, and made a dog tag, which had the name of the dog, Annabelle's name, and her address. "Thank you very much." Annabelle smiled, attaching the collar and leash to Christa.

"You're welcome. I hope you and Christa have a good life together."

"I'm sure we will." Annabelle led Christa outside and into the back of her car. "Before we go home, we're gonna meet some friends." Annabelle said to her new dog. "Sound good?"

Christa, who was sitting on the seat of the car, wagged her short tail, panting excitedly. "Great!" Annabelle drove down towards the boardwalk, which was a popular place to be with her friends, including the Frank Quadric.

Martha and Ozzy were at a table, chatting and drinking sodas, Ursula and Maria were playing fetch with Almira on the beach, Drix was painting on an easel, with Dander sitting at his side, and Thrax was sitting at an empty table near the white blood cells, with his feet propped up on the table, his arms crossed across his chest, and his sunglasses on his face.

"Hey, guys!" Annabelle cried out, stepping out of her car.

"Hey, Annabelle!" Martha greeted, waving. "You get your dog?"

"Sure did. You guys wanna meet her?"

"Sure thing!" Ozzy grinned. "Guys! Red! Annabelle's here with her new dog."

"I can hear you, Jones." Thrax frowned, pushing his glasses up to his hairline. "Hey, Annie."

"Hi, Thrax," Annabelle smiled as Ursula, Drix, and Dander walked up from the beach. "All right, I went to the animal shelter, and asked for a medium-sized dog that is gentle, yet is a good guard dog. I had two dogs to choose from, and I chose this girl," She reached into the car, attached the leash to Christa, and led her out onto the beach. "This is Christa."

Everyone started petting her, complimenting on how she was pretty-looking, or on how she was a good choice for a pet. "You think Almira would want to meet her?" Annabelle asked, remembering how they said she disliked strangers, including dogs.

"Let's try," Drix said. "We're trying to get her to not be so vicious to strangers."

Everyone backed away, allowing Almira to step forward. Annabelle let Christa move forward, but still held onto the leash.

The two pets sniffed at each others face, and then at each others tails, doing the classic "dog handshake." Almira stepped back, looking uninterested in the new face. Christa, however, surprised everyone, and lay down, sticking her butt up in the air, and wagged her tail, smiling widely and friendlily. Almira stepped back slightly, getting a confused expression on her face.

Everyone laughed at this display. "I guess Christa likes Almira." Ozzy chuckled.

"I think Mira's kinda bewildered at Christa bein' so friendly towards her." Thrax remarked. "I think they'll be fine."

Annabelle took off Christa's leash, and the purple dog bounded off onto the beach, with Dander right behind. Almira trotted after them, still seeming slightly confused.

"So, how's she been so far?" Ursula asked as everyone sat at two different tables; Ozzy, Martha, Maria, and Drix were at one table, and Annabelle, Thrax, and Ursula herself at another table.

"Well, I've only had her for, like, twenty minutes, so I'm not really well-acquainted with her. But so far, she's pretty friendly and bouncy."

"She certainly likes Almira," Maria remarked.

"Yeah, she does." Annabelle nodded. "You think I should be worried?"

"Nah," Thrax laughed. "I doubt it."

"I think it's Almira we gotta worry about," Ozzy said, pointing out that Christa and Dander were bounding around the hyena, trying to get her to play. "If you think she was lazy before, Thrax, those two're gonna tire her out."

"I guess she could count her lucky stars that Dander and Christa don't live in the same apartment." Drix said. "Which reminds me, did Ozzy, Thrax, or I mention we've been thinking of living in separate apartments in the same building?"

"Yeah, Thrax said something about that this morning when he was complaining about his back after sleeping on the couch." Annabelle nodded as the dogs ran up to the tables. Dander leapt onto Drix's lap, Christa sat by Annabelle, leaning on her leg, and Almira stood close to Thrax, still giving the purple dog bewildered looks.

"If his back was hurting sleeping on a couch, maybe we ought to get separate apartments soon." Drix remarked.

"I say I stay in the apartment we're in at the moment." Ozzy said. "There are a few empty apartments around the main one, so you two can choose an apartment either to the left or right."

"I wouldn't mind either one." Drix said.

"Me either." Thrax added, scratching the back of Almira's neck.

"Well, that was easy." Ozzy remarked. "All we gotta do is make the arrangements for you two to get your own apartment."

"Annie's right, it _is_ pretty crowded right now." Thrax said, removing his sunglasses and putting them away.

"Hey, I heard that the Bladed Shoulder is hosting 'Hector's Greatest Singer'," Martha spoke up.

"Yeah, that's true." Annabelle nodded. "It's coming in a couple of weeks."

"So, you gonna audition this time?" Ursula asked.

"No, I don't think so." The half-red blood cell shook her head.

"What?! Why not?" Martha asked, astonished. "You've wanted to audition for it since we were in high school! This is your big chance!"

"I doubt I'd be able to even make it past the audition."

"Anna, honey, that aunt of yours has nailed it into your nucleus that you can't do anything." Martha frowned, tapping Annabelle's forehead with a finger. "You're a great singer! And a heck of a lot better than most famous singers."

"She's right," Thrax nodded. "Your aunt is very critical, an' you're a good singer too."

"Just because you think you aren't good, it doesn't mean you can't at least try." Maria added, with Ozzy, Drix, and Ursula nodding in agreement.

"What have you got to lose?" Drix asked.

"Well, I've got a couple of weeks to decide." Annabelle said. "I'll think about it."

"In other words, she'll 'think about it,' not audition, and say she decided not to do it." Martha said dryly, leaning her chin into her hand, and her elbow on the table.

"I don't do that!" Annabelle protested, despite her darkening cheeks.

"Yes, you do." Ursula said, smiling slightly.

Annabelle rolled her eyes. But on the inside, she was wondering of what could happen if she tried to audition. She could either not be entered, or it could go in a totally opposite direction, and she would move on to the real completion. She didn't want to get her hopes up, in case she failed. But her friends, new and old, were certainly boosting her self-confidence.

Drix was right, what did she have to lose?

* * *

**A/N Still in a writer's block, which is also why my Epic fanfic hasn't been updated since last month. But hopefully, I'll get around to it.**

**In the _Ozzy & Drix_ series, Ozzy and Drix share a two-bed apartment, plus have a small dog. With Thrax and Almira in this universe, it's getting kinda crowded. So, I decided it'd be best if, in this story, they get their own apartments near the main one, while staying in the same building.**

**Meet Christa, a totally new character :D She kinda looks like a Rottweiler, but might be a little smaller, and is purple, of course. Plus, she seems to really like Almira. SHOULD we be worried? ...Nah XD**

_**Hector's Greatest Singer**_** will kinda be a parody of _American Idol_. I haven't seen the show enough to know how it works; all I know is people go in and sing in front of the judges, who decide if that person sounds good enough to be on the show. Then there's more singing and judging before the main show starts. I figure all bodies have something like that, just with the name being different for each body.**

**What do you guys think? You think Annie will decide to do it? Also, what should she sing? I'll have a poll of songs she might sing if she decides to audition, so you guys can vote on what she should sing. I might/might not choose multiple songs in the end; if I do the former, I'll choose the most voted-for songs.**


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